#like no we gotta have a five step process | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cowgurrrl · 11 months ago

Text

Something in the Orange

Pairing: Joel Miller x art teacher!reader

Author's note: this might become a mini series idk idk

Summary: A parent-teacher conference leads to trouble [4.0k]

Warnings: no outbreak! au, teacher things, Ellie being a little loner, Joel the Menace making a return, Joel gets both his daughters in this one because it's what he deserves, flirty flirt, i think that's it???

You feel like you've been running a million miles a minute since you got in this morning. The second you could unlock the door, at least three students spilled into your room and chaotically ran to the kiln to collect their most recent pottery projects. One of them ended up shattering (the exact one you warned Colin about, but he didn't listen), and, as per high school custom, they were all screaming about it. You consoled the students just in time for your principal to walk by and ask about lesson plans which made you scramble through your backpack for your notebook even though you knew damn well there wasn't a single lesson plan in there. "Do you always have those lights on?" Principal Martinez asked, gesturing to the room's fairy lights and orange lamps. Leave it to administration to want to avoid art classrooms so much that they don't even know about the Big Light Philosophy.

Since then, it's been class after class. You only have one more period before your planning period and then, finally, the end of the day. There are a hundred things to do, but you can't focus on any of them. You got so caught up in managing your classroom and helping students with the hardest parts of their portfolio work that you almost forgot you had a parent meeting scheduled during your planning period.

Calling in parents for meetings about their children may be your least favorite part of your job. It makes you feel like a bad teacher, and parents usually don't feel great about getting called in on a workday to talk about their kid. Luckily, Ellie's dad, Joel, seemed more than happy to take time to talk about her. You rack your mind for his occupation as you add some detail to a canvas you've been hiding in your office and working on when you can. Was he a blue-collar worker? Or was he another stuck-up Austin transplant parent who's gonna accuse you of lying? He'd make the fifth parent who's made you cry this semester.

A knock on your locked door pulls you from your thoughts, and you quickly put away your painting before answering the door. "I told you she was in here!" One of your students, Dina, announces as she and a posse of three other kids you don't recognize push their way into the room. "Miss, you've gotta take that thing off your door; otherwise, people are gonna think you went home!"

"You mean the sign that says, 'planning period. Do not enter?'" You ask, and she snaps her fingers.

"That's the one." She says as she and her friends start putting their backpacks down at one of your high tables. You sigh and kick the door stopper into the threshold.

"You guys can't stay here. I have a meeting in five minutes."

"With who?"

"None of your business."

"Miss!" Dina acts wounded, and you cross your arms over your chest, your keys jingling around your neck in the process.

"I am an adult with a college degree and the debt to show for it. You are a teenager with a still-developing brain. You have to listen to me," you say. "Wait, whose class are you supposed to be in right now?"

"Mr. Flynn's."

"Guys!" You groan before walking over to your desk and quickly writing up a hall pass for them. "I know you don't like math-"

"No, we don't like Mr. Flynn." Dina cuts you off.

"Or math!" One of her friends adds, and you shoot them a (loving) disapproving look.

"Whatever you don't like, you can't keep hiding out here. Mr. Flynn is two seconds away from trying to get me fired for how often I let his kids in here during class, and I actually like this job, so," you rip the hall pass off the pad and hand it to Dina. As they pack their stuff up, a tall, bearded man steps into your classroom and makes eye contact with you. "Out, out, out! I love you. You're gonna change the world one day, but please get out." You blow them kisses as you usher them out of the room.

"Are you Ellie's art teacher?" He asks, a confused look on his face, and you nod.

"Yes, I am. Sorry about that. They're still figuring out that I have work to get done even when I don't have a class," you explain, a little breathless from running all over the place and getting caught off-guard. You really do try to act a little more professional with parents, but the kids threw you off. The kettle whistling behind your desk doesn't make it any better. "Is there anything I can get you? Coffee? Tea?" You pick up a random mug off your desk but find it full of murky water. "Paint water?"

"Are you allowed to have an electric kettle in here?" He asks, and you laugh nervously as you find a clean mug and your tea box.

"I won't tell if you won't." You say. He stands there awkwardly as you pour yourself some tea, and you realize you didn't pull a chair up for him. "Um, we can sit..." you glance around your messy classroom until you find a clear table and gesture toward it. "Here." He follows your lead, and you take a deep breath as you sit down.

"You gonna be okay?" He asks, the hint of a smirk on his lips. His curly hair looks golden brown in the low light, and his round eyes have a little knowing twinkle. You take another breath to compose yourself and nod.

"Yes. Sorry. It's been a long day."

"Don't worry bout it. I'm sure they run you ragged."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you do have paint in your hair." He says, and panic seizes in your chest. You're never more aware of how crazy your job can be until you meet Real Adults. Even if you can't remember what he does for a living, you still have to admit that you look a little silly next to each other: you, with your paint-stained sunflower dress and markered hands, and him, with his black shirt and jeans. He doesn't have any apparent stains or splatters on his clothes, but he's broad with thick biceps. He must work with his hands or something within that capacity. You clear your throat and try to get back on track with the meeting.

"Uh, so Mr. Miller, the reason I called you here today was to talk to you about Ellie," you start. "First, I just wanna say that she is an amazing student. She always does her work and engages thoughtfully with the material. I really do enjoy having her in class."

"Well, that's certainly good to hear. She talks a whole lot bout this class and you, so... it's nice to place a face to the name," he says, adjusting his position on the stool. "But I have a feelin' you didn't call me down here just to tell me how great my kid is."

"She is great. She's extremely talented, smart, and funny, but she spends more time in my classroom during lunch than anything else. I'm worried about her making friends and finding a community here at school. I've tried convincing her to join the art club, but she's hesitant. During class, she just sits with her headphones in and draws. She really doesn't like talking to anybody but me." You wait for blame to be assigned to you or get lectured, but it never comes. He just sighs, and he deflates a little in his chair.

"She's been through a lot this year. Well, her whole life, really, but 'specially recently," he says dejectedly. "What can I do for her?"

"There's an art show this Friday night here at the school. It'll all be student work from across the district. I thought if maybe you or... whatever adults she has at home came with her to this, she might feel more comfortable talking to her peers or even want to submit some of her own stuff."

"We can do that. I'll get off work early and ask her uncle if he wants to come," he's quick with his solution, and you're a little shocked. You rarely get parents, let alone fathers, who act this swiftly when something is going on with their kids. "Is there anythin' else goin' on that I should know bout?"

"Uh, no. Like I said, she's a great kid. You should be really proud." You say, and the concerned wrinkle between his eyebrows disappears with a proud smile.

"Thank you," he mumbles, suddenly shy. "And thanks for carin' so much bout her. It's nice to know she's got someone lookin' out for her here." You don't know what to say, so you just nod and stare at him. You know, like an idiot. It takes a chuckle from him to snap you out of your thoughts, and blood rushes to your cheeks.

"Yes, of course. She's a good kid." You say.

"You said that already."

"I bet you'd be a little scatterbrained if you were at the mercy of two hundred teenagers all day."

"You're absolutely right. I would be," he says, smirking devastatingly. "Someone ought to get you a coffee or somethin' if you're dealing with all that."

"People like you should go argue with the school board. I'm sure you'd be popular with all the teachers."

"That'd be a first. I think I might've been the least favorite parent for all of my girls' teachers."

"Well, I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah?" He asks, leaning forward just a little, and you nod, smiling. Your brain struggles to come up with something to say, and you're a little embarrassed at your silence, but luckily, your projector saves the day by buzzing loudly and making the picture on the board cut in and out. You mumble a quick apology before getting up and climbing up on a desk to jiggle a piece back into place. You hear Joel curse behind you, and when you turn to see what the problem is, you see him holding his arms out behind you. "Do you stand on desks often?"

"Only every day. I haven't fallen yet this year." You laugh at his exasperated expression and turn back to the projector. It's still making a weird noise, so you move it around a little more, moving the desk under your feet, and Joel stabilizes it with a sigh.

"How long has it been doin' that?"

"Couple months. I keep putting in maintenance requests, but nobody ever comes to fix it."

"I can fix it for ya," he says simply, and you look down at him. "I've got tools in my truck. It wouldn't take long at all."

"Really?" You ask, and he nods.

"It'd make me feel better knowin' you're not almost breakin' your neck every day."

"You mean, standing on a decades-old desk to mess with an ancient piece of equipment isn't OSHA compliant?"

"Please," he says, grabbing your ankle when the desk wobbles under you, and you laugh at his worry. "Let me fix it for you before you give me a heart attack." You think about declining and just putting in another work order, but the likelihood that anyone would actually come and fix it is slim to none. Plus, you really shouldn't be climbing on top of desks every day. You pretend to think it over for a few more seconds just to watch the worry play across his features as his grip on your ankle gets tighter.

"Only if you really mean it."

"I really mean it," he says, offering you his other hand. "Now, would you please get down?"

"Fine." You say and take his hand. You bend to safely get yourself down, but Joel moves his other hand from your ankle to your waist and basically hoists you to the ground. Once your feet touch the floor, he doesn't let you go immediately like he's trying to figure out if you somehow got hurt when he wasn't looking. There's a part of your brain that's aware of how inappropriate this would look to any passersby, but you're also highly aware of how warm his big hand is on your hip.

"Ya alright?" He asks softly, and you nod, taking a conscious step back from his arms.

"Yes, thank you."

"Good," he says, also taking a step back. "Let me go get my tools, and I'll get that fixed for you."

"Perfect. I'll be here." You stand there, staring at each other awkwardly, for another moment before he turns on his heels and walks out of the classroom. The second he's out of your line of sight, you bury your head in your hands and start silently freaking out.

What the fuck are you doing? How did a parent-teacher meeting turn into him hauling you off a desk and offering to fix your projector? Technically, nothing incriminating has happened, and it needs to stay that way. It doesn't matter if you think he's attractive or like how he worries about everything. He's Ellie's dad. Teachers have gotten fired for much less than this, and you're not willing to risk your career because of one guy.

When he gets back with his toolbox, you're sitting at your desk and sorting through assignments like a reasonable adult. He doesn't say anything as he climbs up on the same desk you were standing on and begins messing with the mechanics of the equipment. You each work in silence for a few minutes before a screw clatters to the ground, and he grumbles something under his breath. "Do you mind..." he starts, pointing toward the lost piece.

"Not at all." You cover your anxiety with your chipper teacher voice and search for the screw with your phone flashlight. You find it tucked between canvases, carefully pick it up, and walk over to where he's standing, waiting for him to be ready for it.

"It looks like it's just an old piece in here. I'm sure you can order a new one, and I can come back and install it if ya want," he explains, looking down at you. You probably look stupid just standing there with a tiny screw in your hand, but he doesn't laugh. "D'you mind handing me that tool to your right?" He asks, and you blindly reach for the tool you think he's talking about. "Your other right." He corrects, and you flush in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I never was a very good woodshop student." You say, and he laughs once he has the tool in hand.

"My girls are the same way. Just askin' ‘em to hold a flashlight while I work on their car is like pullin' teeth," he says fondly. "Speaking of which, is there a reason the lights aren't on in here?"

"The lamp light is less harsh, and it helps students focus. Plus, nobody likes coming into a bright classroom first thing in the morning." You explain, and he hums.

"If I'd had a teacher like you growing up, I would've been at school much more than I was."

"You didn't like school?"

"Hated it," he says, opening his hand for the screw. Once you drop the tiny thing into his large palm, he straightens up, and you can barely hear it going back into its rightful place. "'S a miracle I graduated."

"That was me in college."

"Now, I don't believe that for a second."

"Really?" You laugh, and he nods.

"Someone like you, with your pretty dresses and all that empathy, was meant to be a teacher."

"I wasn't always like this," you evade the compliment despite the butterflies in your stomach. "Being a teacher was never on my radar until I graduated. A lot of my life was never on my radar until then." He puts the hood of the projector back on and climbs down from the desk until he's standing in front of you again, wiping his hands on a red handkerchief from his toolbox.

"Well, with the way you carry yourself, I never woulda guessed." He says. He opens his mouth to say something more, but the sharp tone of the bell ringing cuts him off. You jump at the sound and look at the clock as if it were wrong.

"I'm so sorry. Time must've gotten away from me. Thank you so much again, Mr. Miller, for coming in to talk with me and looking at the projector. I hope to see you and Ellie on Friday." You say quickly as the sound of rowdy kids fills the hallway, and you hold your hand out to him. He takes it and squeezes it firmly.

"You can call me Joel. Mr. Miller makes me feel old." He says, and you smile. He doesn't look old, unlike the other dads you've encountered. Sure, he's got some gray at his temples and in his beard, but it suits him.

"Joel, it is then." You resolve. His hand lingers in yours for a little too long before finally pulling away. "Well, Joel, unless you want to elbow through teenagers, I'd suggest you hide out here for a few more minutes." He does happily, even helping you carry supplies to your car once the hallways have cleared out enough. He's a proper gentleman, slinging your backpack over his shoulder and opening doors for you. You part only once everything is in your trunk, and he bids you goodnight with a charming smile that fills your thoughts on your drive home.

Ellie surprises you the next day as you're setting up the classroom. Normally, she isn't in until right before the bell rings, so seeing her this early is a little bit of a shock. The ink staining her hands is not. "Hey, dude. What's going on?" You ask. "Did you get breakfast from the cafeteria today? I heard Mrs. Hodges has those French toast sticks that everyone loves. You can probably get two servings if you run."

"No, I already ate. My dad and uncle had to leave early this morning, so we got breakfast. Speaking of which," she says as she takes off her backpack and pulls a cup of iced coffee out of her water bottle pocket. "This is for you. We didn't know what you liked, so we got a vanilla latte or something."

"Oh, El! You didn't have to do that. Thank you, honey." You say, and she sets it on your desk for you to enjoy once you don't have paintbrushes in hand. "If this is your way of getting a good grade on your piece, I already told you that you have nothing to worry about."

"It wasn't my idea. It was my dad's." She says nonchalantly before moving to the back of the classroom to get her sketch book. You, however, are confused and secretly pleased that Joel thought of you when he didn't have to. You find a message scribbled on the side when you reach for the cup to take a sip.

Thanks again. See you Friday. -J

You turn to hide your smile from Ellie, but she's so deep in her work that you doubt she would've noticed anyway. You put some music on, and you and Ellie work silently on your projects until the bell rings and the day starts.

The rest of the week goes by without a hitch, meaning that nobody accidentally ingested paint, and you only had to have one Come to Jesus talk with your Art 1 class. When Friday night rolls around, you're excited to see all the students work and treat yourself by wearing a new shirt with black scribbles all over it and black dress pants. You figure you should look as art teachery as possible for an art teacher event.

By the time you get to the school, the hallways are buzzing with students dragging their parents from one piece to another and administrators praising their art programs even though you know not one of them has seen the inside of an art classroom in months. You make small talk with some of your students and their parents before finding a way out of the conversation and letting yourself wander through the makeshift gallery. You love your kids, but you really don't want them breathing down your neck as you look at all the art. You're almost at the end when you hear a familiar voice calling your name, and you turn to find Ellie walking toward you with Joel and, who you assume to be her uncle, next to her.

"Hey, kid! I'm so happy to see you here!" You say sincerely, and she smiles shyly. You turn to her uncle and hold your hand out to introduce yourself.

"Tommy. We sure have heard a whole lot bout you at home." He says with a smirk, and you laugh.

"All good things, I hope."

"Of course. Ellie just bout worships the ground you walk on," he says. "Joel was singin' your praises, too."

"Alright, I think that's enough. Why don't y'all go walk around, and I'll catch up with ya?" He suggests, and Tommy chuckles. Another teacher calls Ellie's name from down the hallway, and she's quick to drag Tommy off to meet him, leaving you and Joel alone. He's replaced his black shirt with a light blue dress shirt, and it looks like he's recently trimmed his beard. He looks nice.

"Singing praises, huh?" You raise your eyebrows at him, and he smiles sheepishly. "Thank you for the coffee the other morning, by the way. It was a really nice surprise."

"Figured it was the least I could do to thank you for takin' such good care of my girl."

"Well, thank you. I owe you."

"You don't owe me a thing," he says. "Although, Tommy was a little upset that I didn't bill you for lookin' at the projector."

"Was he?" You ask, and he nods.

"Oh, yeah," he laughs. "Said next time I should, at least, ask you on a date."

"Mr. Miller-"

"I thought you agreed to call me Joel." He raises his eyebrows in a silent challenge, and you shake your head, fighting a smile.

"Joel, while I'm flattered by the offer from someone so handsome-"

"You think I'm handsome?"

"I can't date my students' parents." You say, ignoring his question, but even then, the playful look on his face doesn't fade. "Well, I can leave you to it. I know Ellie will probably want to show you around."

"Right. Of course," he says. "It's really nice to see you."

"You, too. I'm just glad I didn't have paint in my hair this time."

"I don't know. I thought it was kinda cute." You feel yourself blush at his words, but you have to shut it down before it can become anything more than flattery. You take a deep breath and try not to let that stupid smirk weaken your knees as he watches you.

"Goodnight, Joel."

"Goodnight, ma'am." He says, tipping his head politely before sauntering down the hallway like he owns the place. Trouble, you think to yourself. But you can handle trouble. It's in your job description, for Christ's sake.

So, you brush off the flirting and try to ignore how his kindness and sweet words made you feel. You absolutely cannot flirt with the parent of one of your students. Dating is completely off the table. You can handle this like an adult. You have to.

After a cold shower and a leftover dinner, you check your email once more before going to bed that night. Sitting in your inbox with alarming clarity is an email from Ellie with the subject line: Art Club. Her email is somehow just as short as her subject line.

Simply, "When can I start -E."

TAGLIST: @abbyhaslongshorts @kiwiharrykiwi @sumsworldz @myloveistoolittle @anavatazes @marantha

580 notes · View notes

bi-bard · 3 months ago

Text

On My Line, You’re Hooked, I’m Fishin’ - Scott Imagine [Twisters]

Title: On My Line, You’re Hooked, I’m Fishin’

Pairing: Scott [Twisters] X Reader

Word Count: 3,126 words

Warning(s): argument, grabbing someone's wrist

Summary: [Somewhat inspired by "Too Easy" by Tanner Adell] When a new company rolls into town during tornado season, Tyler's team is curious. Perfect uniforms, all looking ready for picture wasn't exactly the normal look for tornado chasing. (Y/n) volunteers to be the one to gather some much-needed intel, doing whatever they need to in order to get it.

Author's Note: I have about five Twisters imagines in my drafts right now.

Listen. I'm have something cute about this guy in my drafts, but he pissed me off in this movie, so I have to get that shit out first. It's part of my process.

----------------------

There was always a lot of energy during tornado season, but nothing beat the feelings on those first few days.

There was all this hope. This adrenaline going for something that hadn't even happened yet. A little while in, you would get an idea about how the season was going to go. The not-knowing before that was the best part. Endless possibilities and all that.

All that to explain that it felt normal for our team to be jumping off the walls like kids in a candy shop when we first all made it to Oklahoma.

Boone and Tyler were sorting out the truck. Dexter and Dani were making sure the trailer was stocked with merch and food for those who needed it. I hadn't been given a task, so I was left to pretty much my own devices. As a result, Lily was left working on her drone while I talked her ear off. She didn't seem to mind it.

I looked up over her head to see a group of white trucks and vans pulling up. Nice ones. Clean, new. I saw the logo slapped on the side.

"What in the hell is Storm Par," I asked.

"What?" Lily looked at me before immediately turning to the other vehicles. "No idea."

"Hey, Tyler!" I walked over to the truck.

"What's going on? Sugar high crashing?"

"Very funny," I replied before pointing to the white vehicles. "Who's Storm Par?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "No idea. Look like a big corporation."

A group of men started climbing out of the vehicles.

"Woah," he muttered.

"Proper science fair dudes," I commented. "Bet you twenty bucks that they have pocket protectors."

Tyler reached out and whacked my shoulder. "Be nice."

"Fine," I grumbled as he turned back to the truck.

I caught one of the men staring at me. He was tall and seemed to have a completely emotionless face. His clothes were neat, perfectly pressed. When he saw that I had noticed him, he had turned away from me, going to follow his team into the gas station.

"Want me to get intel?"

Tyler chuckled. "Intel? What year do you think it is? We can look them up tonight."

"Yeah, but I just caught one of their boys staring at me," I explained. "Let me do it; it'll kill two birds with one stone."

I heard Boone laugh from the other side of the truck. "I love the way you think!"

"Thanks, Boone."

"Alright, fine," Tyler relented. "But hurry up, we gotta get going."

"Thank you," I said. "Anyone want a drink?"

"Get me a Mountain Dew!" Boone called. I pointed at him and nodded.

"Be back in a minute!"

I walked back to the fridges along the back wall. I saw the man who had stared at me was now standing by the fridges.

I stood next to him. "Hey there."

He didn't respond, just staring straight ahead at the fridge. I had to hold in my laugh as I stepped forward to grab two Mountain Dews.

"Did Storm Par put a ban on talking to other tornado chasers," I asked. He didn't reply again. "Or are you just scared? Promise I don't bite."

"I'm not scared," he replied.

"Oh my goodness, he speaks." I placed a hand over my chest to pretend to be shocked. I chuckled at his clearly unimpressed expression before holding my hand out. "(Y/n)."

"Scott." he shook my hand before very quickly pulling it back.

"Nice to meet you, Scott," I said. "So, what exactly is Storm Par?"

"We track tornados so the data can be used for research."

"Real specific there," I chuckled at him. "What kind of research?"

He didn't respond.

"Oh, come on, I'm not gonna steal your ideas."

"I'm not worried about it."

"Are you worried that I won't understand it? I'm smarter than I look."

He let out an amused huff before grabbing a water and starting to walk to the checkout. I followed him.

"Maybe you could explain it to me later then," I suggested, hopping in front of him just before he got in line. I smiled at his blank look. "Tonight. There's a bar not too far from here, right next to a hotel that our crew's staying at; I'll buy you a drink."

I watched as his eyes scanned me for a moment. It looked like he was trying to figure out whether or not I was tricking him. I was almost hurt. I mean, I was tricking him, but not in the way that he was assuming.

I turned around to pay for my drinks, so I could step out of the way.

"Come on," I pushed before rattling off the name of the bar. "Meet me there tonight. One drink. If I'm that bad of company, then you can leave and I won't complain once. I'll even try to stay out of your hair during the chases."

Scott took a deep breath. "Fine."

"Yes," I cheered out of mostly fake excitement. "You won't regret this."

"I hope not."

I reached out and fiddled with a button on his white shirt. Far too perfect to be out there chasing storms. "Can't wait to see how well your perfect uniforms last out there."

I stepped back, not missing how his eyes followed my hand.

"See you later, Fancy Pants!" I waved as I started running back out to Tyler's truck.

"How'd it go," Tyler asked as I hopped into the passenger seat.

"Didn't get much," I admitted, handing Boone his drink before buckling up. "But I did get him to say yes to meeting me for a drink later."

"Atta kid!" Boone clapped his hand over my shoulder.

"I know, I know, a miracle worker," I replied. "Ready to get out there?"

"Absolutely," Tyler said.

The rest of the day went so much faster than it had any right to.

We saw Storm Par a lot. It took everything in me to not be a bit of a dick when we passed them. I did wave once when I spotted Scott in the passenger seat of one of the trucks. He nodded at me in an awkward greeting, which led to him getting a bit of a weird look from the man who was driving.

"What are you doing?" Tyler laughed as I relaxed back into my seat.

"Playing with the food," Boone answered before I could, causing me to laugh loudly.

"I was gonna say 'being friendly', but that's better," I said.

Maybe that was the excitement of it all messing with my head, but it felt like it took a matter of minutes before we found ourselves driving to the bar that I had told Scott to meet me at.

I walked in ahead of the group, trying to keep from laughing at the comments that Boone was shouting over my shoulder.

I saw some of the other guys from Storm Par at a table together. At the actual bar was Scott. He looked a bit tense, almost disheartened. I started to wonder just how long he had been there. Had I kept him waiting? Did he think that I stood him up? Was that the face of stubbornness just before calling the night a bust and going back to wherever he was staying?

I guess it didn't matter now. I couldn't back out.

"Fancy pants!" I called before walking over quickly. He seemed startled as I plopped onto the barstool next to him. "How was your day?"

"You should know, you were there for most of it," he replied.

"Was that a joke or are you just annoyed with me," I asked.

"Guess you'll have to figure it out." he shrugged. I saw a small grin form as he took a sip of his drink.

I let out a scoff. "Wow, Fancy Pants is bold now. A couple of sips is all it took?"

Scott rolled his eyes. The bartender walked over to us. I just asked for the same of whatever Scott had been drinking before focusing back on the conversation.

"The uniform held up well, I see." I pulled lightly at one of the white sleeves of his shirt. "Research must not be as hands-on as I thought it was."

"We do the same thing your crew does," he argued.

"With a bigger paycheck, I'm sure," I replied.

"Our work is a bit more important."

"And what work is that?"

"Why don't you tell me about yours first?" he smirked at me before taking another sip of his drink.

He thought it was clever. I could tell. Avoid my question by focusing the attention back on me. In any other situation, it would have screwed me out of the information that I needed.

But in this one... it was a mistake.

Here's the thing: I could talk. I could go on and on for hours about absolute nonsense. I could go from story to story without taking a breath.

And I did.

I told him about all the work that we had done to help people. About digging through the destroyed debris to try and find some pieces of people's lives. About making bundles of food. Then, I just started telling stories about every funny or weird moment that had happened since I had joined Tyler's crew.

The time that I burned served me well. Scott relaxed. Whether that was a result of his drink or simply because I was earning his trust was a mystery to me. I didn't bother focusing on which it was.

"Alright, alright," I said. "That's enough about what I do. Tell me about Storm Par."

"I told you; we collect data for future tornado research," Scott replied.

"Oh, come on." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, not to be rude, but I've seen your team. You're all a bit young to be jumping into research all on your own. And Storm Par doesn't sound like a company attached to a college."

"No, no, we're a private company," he explained. "We've had some luck finding a few really interested investors."

"Like...?"

"The biggest one is Marshall Riggs. He's a big-name real estate guy."

I couldn't quite put the pieces together at the time, but I felt a pit in my stomach. Unease that formed all too fast. "What would a real estate guy want with tornado research?"

"He's helping people," Scott's response felt like an attempt to twist an image that hadn't even been made yet. "He uses it to find people that have lost their homes and businesses and such and he buys them. It allows those people to move forward with their lives without having to wait for insurance to make a call on it."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Doesn't a disaster usually force the prices down for land?"

"I mean, it's lower than the normal price. It's not like he's buying this land up for five dollars and a pack of gum."

"What other aid does Storm Par offer them then, if they're getting rid of their homes and land?"

"Our investors focus funds on the research."

"So no?"

"So we're focused on the bigger picture. More long-term consequences."

I took the subtlest deep breath that I could. "I see."

I looked down at my watch.

"Oh, look at that, it's a lot later than I thought," I said, completely lying through my teeth. "We have to head out early in the morning."

I handed my card to the bartender, muttering for him to just cover both of our drinks.

"I can walk you out," Scott replied.

"Yeah, sure, okay," I mumbled, scribbling down a tip and putting my card away.

I followed Scott outside, letting him hold the door open. I wanted to seem less tense than I was. I was doubting how well it was working, but all I needed was for it to be good enough to get out of there without being questioned, so who really cares?

We made it outside. I was about to insist that we go our separate ways for the night, but he cut me off.

"You were right," Scott said. "Didn't regret that."

"Oh, good," I replied. I may have regretted it.

There was a long pause. Scott went to step closer to me. I almost scrambled back before he could, forcing out a chuckle.

"Well, I should go." I shrugged, continuing to walk backward before eventually turning around and just calling to him over my shoulder. "Have a good night. Stay safe. See you around, fancy pants!"

A few minutes later, I was knocking on Tyler's door like I was a landlord looking for late rent.

"(Y/n), what the hell are you doing," he asked as he yanked the door open. "You're gonna piss off somebody."

"I'm already a bit pissed, so maybe it'll do some good to share the suffering," I replied before shoving my way past him. "I have answers."

"About Storm Par?"

"No about what Scott likes to do on a nice summer day- Yes about Storm Par!"

"You are grumpy when it's late." he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Shut up," I slapped his shoulder. "I found out about Storm Par's funding."

"Okay..."

"So, yes, they do research and track the storms and report that data back to their investors," I explained. "The problem is that their major investor is named Marshall Riggs, who has apparently made quite a name for himself in real estate."

"What would he want with it?"

"Well, he's going to the places impacted by the storms and buying up land from people who lose their homes and businesses and stuff. He's apparently spinning some story that he's allowing people to move forward with their lives, but come on, he's just using this information to get his hands on cheap land."

"Do you know what he's doing with the land?"

"I didn't ask."

"Okay..."

"Storm Par is giving this man power to do some real harm here."

"I know, I know."

"So, what are we gonna do," I asked, looking at Tyler again.

"I... I don't know," he replied, running his hand over his face.

"We can't just let him keep doing this!"

"(Y/n)," he sighed. "I don't even know if this guy is doing something that's technically illegal-"

"It's still wrong!" I snapped at him.

"I know!"

I froze.

"But whatever we do won't stop him. He'll keep preying on desperate people and whatever we say won't change what impact he might have on them. They're desperate, they think they're alone."

"So we just do nothing?"

"No." Tyler shook his head. "What we can do is continue helping people."

I nodded. "I just... I feel like there's just so much more that we could do."

"In a perfect world, we would be able to speak out and it would stop him." he shrugged. "It would make him give up and walk off with his tail between his legs. But we can't. We just have to do what we can."

I took a deep breath. Tyler pulled me into a hug.

"We're doing good work. And we'll only earn more outreach. We'll continue to do better."

I stepped back. "I'm still going to be an asshole tomorrow."

"Just don't end up dead or in jail."

"I'll do my best," I shrugged before going to walk out. "Good night!"

"Night!" he called out after me.

I was hoping that the next morning would have been mostly calm. That we would get out into the field before Storm Par or vice versa. Something to keep me from having to face Scott for just a few more hours.

I was walking back to the truck after picking up some breakfast. I was occupied with my own thoughts. I was still upset. I was still fighting the urge to go scream from the rooftops about Marshall Riggs and the bullshit he was doing.

"(Y/n)!"

I considered sprinting to the truck when I heard Scott say my name. I just wasn't feeling mean enough to do that... yet.

"Scott," I said as I turned around. "How are ya?"

"Good, good, what about you?"

"I'm fine, just busy," I replied, going to step away. "Heading out early and all."

Scott stepped forward. "I was hoping to ask if you wanted to meet again tonight. Maybe dinner instead of a drink."

"I... I don't think that'd be a good idea."

His face fell. "Oh... why?"

"I just don't think we clicked like I thought we would." the goal was to maintain the peace until the end of the season. "But hey, we tried it, that's what matters. I'll... I'll see you out there."

"Did I... Did I do something wrong?"

"Nope, you were just fine. Just didn't work."

I turned to walk away but was stopped when Scott grabbed my wrist. "I don't believe that."

I yanked my arm from him. "Don't ever fucking grab me again."

"I just want the truth."

"I told you the truth." I turned away again.

I was grabbed again. "Just wait-"

I pulled my arm away and shoved him backward. "I fucking warned you to not grab me like that again."

He seemed to still be reeling from the fact that I shoved him.

"You want the truth? Fine," I shrugged. "I find your company and what it stands for to be completely despicable. I think it's disgusting that y'all would accept money to help a man take advantage of innocent people. I think it's disgusting that you don't seem to give a damn about it. If I could tear your company down, I would, but in reality, my words would never stop you or your damn investors. And I hope that one day you wake up, look in the mirror, and feel the crushing pain of all those that you helped that man manipulate."

Scott stepped forward, a response clearly ready, but he looked over my shoulder and froze.

"(Y/n), you good?" I heard Tyler's voice call over to me.

"Yeah," I yelled over my shoulder. "Just having a quick chat!"

I stepped away again, walking as quickly as I could to make it over to him and the rest of the crew.

"Didn't end up in jail," I offered, trying to look at the bright side.

"I almost did," he muttered. "Get in the truck."

I did a little salute to him before going around to the passenger seat. I saw Tyler stare down Scott for a few more seconds before hopping in the driver's seat.

Maybe there was some argument to be made about the benefits of killing someone with kindness. But that just wasn't how I operated. And I think I'm better off that way.

----------------------

TAG LISTS:

Everything - @geeksareunique

----------------------

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Original Characters Masterlist

#fanfiction #imagine #x reader #twisters imagine #twisters fanfiction #twisters x reader #twisters 2024 imagine #twisters 2024 fanfiction #twisters 2024 x reader #scott twisters imagine #scott twisters fanfiction #scott twisters x reader #david corenswet imagine #david corenswet fanfiction #david corenswet x reader

188 notes · View notes

samandcolbyownme · 11 months ago

Text

Summary: Anon request - "can you do a fluff drunk with sam where the reader gets very drunk and sam takes care of her and like cuddles her tysm"

Warnings: fluff, mentions of alcohol consumption, partying, playing beer pong

Word count: 2.2k | not edited

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

Sam walks up behind you, "Matching your dress to my pants was the best idea ever." His eyes move down your dress and to his pants, "We look so good, baby."

You look over at him in the mirror and smile, "Right. I'm just glad I found this shade of pink, it was the last one too."

"So what you're saying is that.. you're lucky.." he spins you around and you rest on the low counter top of the hotel room, "Something like that."

His eyes scan over your freshly done face and he sighs, "You look beautiful."

You smile, "You look so handsome."

He smiles and shakes his head, "Oh stop it." He looks down and back up to you, "Gimme a kiss, we gotta get going."

You pucker lips and he leans in, stealing one before pulling you up, "Ready?"

You nod, linking your arm with his, "Ready."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

"How ya feelin'?" Sam asks, smirking as he looks down at you. You have your head rested on his chest, eyes closed, "I feel.. drunk." You giggle and sit up, "But I'm having so much fun."

He smiles and brushes hair that's caught in your last, "You look so pretty."

You smile, "I love you." You cup his cheeks with your hands, "I love you so, so, so much." He chuckles, smiling as he shakes his head, "And I love you.." he leans in, "So, so, so.. So much."

You smile and connect your lips with his, "Wanna be my partner in pong?"

He scoffs, "Is that even a question that you have to ask?"

You giggle, "No, come on." You grab his hand, pulling him behind you as you make your way through the crowded house, "Colby!"

Colby turns around, "Hey! What's up?"

You nod to Sam, "Get a partner, you're playing against us in pong." Colby laughs, "Alright, but don't cry to Sam when you lose."

You roll your eyes, "Please. If anyone will be crying it'll be you."

Sam smirks, nodding to Colby as you pull him past to your end of the table. You set the cups up, waiting for Colby and Jake to set theirs up.

"Y/n, how drunk are you?" Jake laughs and rolls a ball across the table. You grab it, standing back up, "not drunk enough to lose to you guys."

Sam bites his bottom lip, smirking at your drunken trash talk, "Get 'em, babe." He pulls you closer to him before stepping back, giving you space to shoot your shot.

"Ladies first." Jake says motioning to the cups on his and Colby's side. You give him a smirk, "Thanks." You bite your bottom lip, focusing on the cup before you toss it.

You smile, "Have at it, Webber."

Sam walks up to you, wrapping an arm around your waist as he watches Jake miss his shot. He catches the ball before it lands on the floor, "Nice shot, Jake."

"That was my warm up. Don't worry, I'll be coming back with redemption." He laughs and you and Sam shoot, making both.

You guys shoot again, this time Sam misses but you don't. You take your shot, and lucky for Colby and Jake, you miss.

"About damn time." Colby groans, "Fucking hell."

"Remember Jake. In to the cup." You laugh and lean against Sam, giggling as Jake misses his shot, but Colby gets his.

You remove the cup, and you repeat the process until you both are down to the last cup.

"Come on, baby." Sam says, "You got this."

You smile, looking at the cup for a few seconds before shooting. Sink.

You turn to Sam, high fiving him as he cheers, but Colby cuts it short, "Now wait wait wait a minute. We get to shoot, too."

You motion to the cup and laugh as he misses. You motion to Jake, "Have at it Mr. Redemption."

He rolls his eyes, smirking as he chuckles, "If I make this, you have to take two shots back to back."

"And if you don't?" You shrug and tilt your head. He sighs, "I'll take four back to back shots."

"Deal." You laugh, raising your hands in the air and bringing them down with a clap, "Fuck yeah. Let's go get your shots, Jakey poo."

You interlock your fingers with Sam's, "That was so much fun." Sam nods, "I just like watching you have fun." You smirk, "Mm, I'm sure you do."

You walk over to the counter where all the full and empty bottles of alcohol sit, "Pick your poison." You motion to the glass and Jake sighs, "Fine." He points and you pour him out four shots.

At this point everyone is gathered around, cheering on Jake as he takes the shots, groaning after, "These are going to fuck me up."

You lean in. Maybe next time you'll actually win." You laugh as you pull Sam to the floor where everyone is dancing.

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

By one a.m, you're finishing your seventh drink, clinging to Sam like you normally do when you're drunk.

"Calling it a night?" Sam rests his chin on your head and you nod, "I- I think so." You hiccup, giggling at the weird sound you made, "Yeah."

Sam laughs, standing you up and wrapping an arm around your waist, "Come on. Let's go back to the hotel so you can lay down."

"But I love this song." You whine, opening your eyes, "After this song?"

He sighs, "Okay." He smiles, "After this song, but no more shots."

You nod, laughing, "Yes sir." He laughs, shaking his head as he walks with you to the floor, pulling you close as you dance to the music.

Soon the song ends, and you say your goodbyes before leaving the party. You walk with your arm linked into Sam's, head resting on his shoulder, "Thank you."

"For what, sweetheart?" Sam glances down at you as you cross the street.

You let out a sigh, "For loving me for me."

He smiles, "You get so lovey when you're drunk." He kisses your head, "I love it. And I love you."

You tilt your head back, looking up at him as you blink slowly, "Like I really, really love you." He nods, "I know you do, baby." He rubs your shoulder, “Are you cold?”

You shake your head, “Not really.”

“Alright. We’re almost back to the hotel anyway.” He stops, waiting for the crosswalk to change and you start giggling.

He looks down at you, “What are you laughing at?”

“Want to see me do a cartwheel?” You look up at him and he shakes his head, “Maybe when you’re sober and can stand up by yourself.” He smiles and laughs with you, walking you across the street.

“My feet hurt.” You whine and Sam chuckles, “Come on.” He stops and turns away from you, “Jump up.”

You place your hands on his shoulders, “Ready?” You ask and he nods, “Yes ma’am.” You focus on jumping up on to his back as you tug your dress down more, “Okay.”

You jump and Sam catches your legs as they wrap around his waist. Your arms move to around his neck but loose enough so you don’t choke him out.

“You good?” He looks over his shoulder at you and you nod, “Yes.” He nods, laughing slightly, “Please don’t let go.”

You giggle, imagining yourself falling backwards, “I won’t.”

Sam carries you down the street to the hotel, setting you down as you wait for the elevator, “Still good?”

You nod, leaning against him, “Uh huh.”

“Ready for bed aren’t you?” He chuckles as you nod again, “Oh yeah.” He pulls you into him more, kissing your forehead a few times, “Come on.”

The doors open and he pulls you with him as he steps into it, pressing the button to go up.

“We’ll go in, get you some comfy pjs on. Some water maybe? You hungry?” He looks down at you and you shake your head, eyes closed as your head rests on his chest, “No, but I do want cuddles.”

“That’s already on the to do list, babe.” Sam chuckles, hugging you until the doors open again. He walks you out and picks you up bridal style and takes you to the room.

Once in, he walks you over, setting you down gently on the bed, “alright, let’s see what we have here.” He walks over to the suitcases, and you watch him as he digs through them until he finds one of his hoodies.

You smile as he turns to face you, “I love that sweatshirt.”

He nods, “I know you do. That’s why I brought it.”

You smile as you work the straps of your dress over your shoulders and down your arms. Sam kneels down, undoing your heels and slipping them off your feet, “Alright.” He stands up, “Stand up for me.”

He pulls you to your feet and you groan slightly, “I’m never drinking again.”

“You said that last time.” He chuckles and pushes your dress down your body until it pools at your feet, “Sit back down, babe.”

He scrunches up the hoodie to put it over your head and helps you get your arms in, “Do you want shorts or anything?”

You shake your head as you crawl up the bed and plop down, “No thank you.”

Sam smiles to himself as he goes and gets changed. You lay there, staring at the wall as you think about how much you really love Sam.

He walks back over, makeup wipe in hand, “Let’s get this off your face.” You smile up at him as you roll onto your back, closing your eyes as you let him wipe away your worn down makeup, “Thank you.”

He bends down, pecking your lips, “Of course.” He walks over to throw the wipe away before coming back over.

He sets a water down on the nightstand before climbing into bed next to you, “Come here, my little drunken cutie.”

You giggle slightly as you roll over to face him, lying on his chest, “I love you.”

He runs his fingers through your hair, “I love you.”

“No like.. you don’t.. you don’t even..” you hiccup, “..know how much I love you, Sam.” He kisses your head and rests his cheek against it, “You have no idea how much I love you, y/n.”

You smile, bringing a hand up to lay on his chest next to your face, “You smell really good.”

He chuckles, “Thanks? I think.”

“Mhm.” You sigh, “You’re my favorite person in the whole world.” You continue to drunkenly babble, “Like if I could have anyone I’d still pick you.”

“I appreciate that.” Sam laughs quietly, “I’d pick you, too. Over and over.”

“Really?” You look up at him and he nods, “Oh yeah. One hundred percent.” You smile, puckering your faded lipstick covered lips and he smiles before pressing his to yours.

“Get some sleep, baby.” He kisses your head and reaches over to switch the light off, “You’re going to need it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You sigh and cuddle into him more, “I love you.”

“I love you.” Sam whispers as he settles into the bed, “So much.”

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

The next morning, you wake up feeling like you were ran over.

Your body ached, your feet especially.

You look over, smiling as you see Sam lying there sleeping peacefully. You remember bits and pieces of the party, but you fully remember Sam taking care of you.

“Morning.” Sam’s voice makes you jump slightly, “Morning.”

He rubs his eyes and looks over at you, “How ya feeling?”

“Like a semi truck ran me over.” You groan as you stretch your arms above your head, “How are you feeling?”

He pulls you back to lay with him, “I’d feel even better if you came back to lay with me for a while.” You lay on your side, facing him, “I can do that.”

He laughs, eyes still closed, “Good.” He lays an arm over your waist, pulling you into him, “There’s a water on the stand for you, and if you have a headache there’s stuff in the suitcase for you. I can get it if-“

“It’s fine.” You cut him off, “I’m good.” You run your hand through his hair, admiring just how much he cares, “Thank you.”

“For?” He mumbles and you press a kiss to his forehead, “Taking such good care of me last night.” He smiles and opens his eyes, “You don’t have to thank me.”

“I know, but I was probably a handful and-“

He cuts you off, “Not even close.” He leans up, stealing a kiss, “Now come back and cuddle me, dammit.” He laughs slightly and you lay down next to him, “I really do love you.”

Sam chuckles, “Would have never guessed.”

“Did I say it a lot last night?” You sigh, “Sorry I-“

“I’m not complaining. That’s my favorite thing to hear from you.” He kisses your cheek, “I’ll always say it back.” He kisses your cheek again, “I’ll always be here.” He kisses your lips, “I’ll always love you.”

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

Let me know how you liked this!

Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

445 notes · View notes

princessbrunette · 7 months ago

Note

Jj is “no pup it’s this way!” And guiding her softly

Maggie is no words and js roughly manhandles her to go to the right direction

i love the idea of maggie getting looped into pogue adventures and she’s so reluctant and hates every aspect of it so she’s just a big old grump the whole time.

˙✧˖° 🐬🛼🎀 ⋆｡♡

the three of you scour over a marketplace in charleston, having wound up there when john b had called. it was cutting into your special quality time with your boyfriend and girlfriend, so instead of jj leaving like he was so prone to doing, he decided the solution was to bring you both along for the ride. now, you were lost — and maggie felt like she was melting beneath the hot sun.

“well, uh — you’re hot because you decided to wear all black today and we are like, directly under the sun. maybe if you didn’t dress like freaking count dracula you wouldn’t be in this predicament.” jj rants smugly as he head swivels around, looking for anything familiar to help guide him.

“huh, predicament is a pretty big word for you jay. go ahead and spell that for me?” maggie is quick to quip, storming along a few paces behind him with her arms crossed over her chest. the blonde whips around to argue back, but his eyes fall behind her distractedly and he begins to look around, his expression flattening.

“uh… okay so…” he points guiltily. “may have… may have lost sight of pup.” he winces and maggie frowns before turning around, taking five seconds to scan the market before spotting the back of your head at a particular stall where you seem to be enthralled by glittery overpriced windchimes. they approach, watching you touch one and accidentally knock a few down in the process. jj whistles tunefully, hoping to acquire your attention but you ignore it purposely.

“this is pretty.” you tell the lady running the market. maggie looks at the blonde, and then at you before rolling her eyes.

“yeah, don’t think she picked up on the serenade— maybank.” she sarks before darting off and appearing at your side, gripping you by the waist and walking you away forcefully, being much stronger than you so you stumble a little. “quit running off and leaving me with jj. i have a headache.” she scolds and you frown, pouting a little but they can both tell you’re otherwise unbothered, still having a pep in your step.

“be nice.” you scold back and she squeezes your waist briefly before sending her to walk infront of you with a firm pat on the ass.

“well be good. sooner this is over the sooner we can leave.”

“aw mags, ain’t you a ray of sunshine.” jj appears at her side, going to wrap an arm around her shoulder but she shoves him away. “alrighty.” he accepts the rejection towards his friendly affection and stumbles away to your side instead, taking your hand. “shes kinda right though. gotta be good or i’mma really put you on a leash.” he jokes lightheartedly and you giggle, squirming as you walk due to his fingers tickling at your tummy.

maggie opens her mouth to make some kind of comment about how you’d probably like that, but her expression lights up in recognition instead, pointing ahead. “hey. there’s the meeting point john b sent us the location for.” and just like that, jj was back into mission mode.

˙✧˖° 🐬🛼🎀 ⋆｡♡

#anon #jj x reader x maggie #oc: maggie ��#puppy!reader

169 notes · View notes

yelena-bellova · 2 years ago

Text

Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Soundtrack of Life

Plot: Y/n, Joel and Ellie journey to Bill and Frank’s house, where Joel and Y/n are forced into a conversation.

Word Count: 11.2k

Warnings: tlou ep.3 spoilers, language, guns, canon-typical violence, mention of killing (16+)

A/N: You guys blow this thing up more and more each week and I’m blown away each time. I see all your lovely comments, even if I don’t respond. A gentle reminder that this is a 16+ fic and I will not be adding anyone to the taglist who does not have their name on their page. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀

Regarding this chapter, I did NOT intend forit to be this long. I honestly thought because the episode was all about Bill and Frank that it would be the shortest, but here we are. It contains one of my favorite scenes of the entire series, I’ll let you guess which one it os 😉

—————————

May 16th, 2002. Austin, Texas.

Y/n considered herself a fairly confidant person. She kept her fear reserved for things like family emergencies, natural disasters…things out of her control.

Not first dates with men she’d known a week.

She was pacing her kitchen, heels clicking against the linoleum floor and her sundress swishing each time she looped around. Her hands wrung themselves against her abdomen. She had never felt so nervous about a date, not even in high school. She figured it was a warning sign of some type. Either she was making a huge mistake or a fantastic decision. She rested her head against one of the cabinets and prayed it was the latter…

Outside Y/n’s complex, Joel had just parked his truck. Dressed in a long sleeved plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, jeans and dress shoes, he felt constrained. Like his chest had expended three sizes and the shirt was no longer able to accommodate it. Or was he just hot? Hungry?

Joel tightened his grip on the steering wheel and shut his eyes. He was nervous.

It had been at least one, maybe two years since he’d been on a date. A neighbor’s daughter that Joel had felt obligated to go out with so that it would sate his street in their constant attempts at setting him up. It had been much longer since he’d voluntarily sought someone out. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself it wasn’t marriage. They were just going to dinner. If nothing happened, it wasn’t the end of the world…

Joel sighed, but he wanted something to happen…

He picked up the roses from the passenger seat, a nod to the night they’d met, pocketed his keys and stepped out of the truck. He felt dazed as he climbed the stairs to the second floor. 41B, Y/n had told him. When he reached the door, he hesitated to knock. Such a minuscule part of the night, but the mere act of coming to her door felt like the beginning of…everything.

Three raps broke Y/n from her panic party.

She’d put on an old record, hoping it would ease her nerves. It hadn’t done a thing. She stood up straight, drawing a deep and tried to force confidence through her body.

When Y/n opened the door, Joel lost any and all words he’d been thinking over in his head. She was dressed in a simple yellow flowered dress, but it was her wearing it that melted Joel. She looked like sunshine itself.

“Hi,” she smiled.

“Hi,” Joel exhaled, “Sorry if I’m late.”

Y/n looked at the clock near the door, “Only a minute. I think I can excuse that.”

Joel huffed a nervous laugh. What came next?

“These are for you,” he stated, holding out the flowers.

Roses. Y/n was shocked that Joel had remembered the tiny detail of their night in the bar. Tommy’s nickname was going to stick so long as she stuck around the Millers, she had a feeling…

“They’re gorgeous,” she giggled, “You’ve got a good memory.”

Joel gave a half shrug, rubbing his sweaty palms against his jeans after.

Y/n felt like her brain had stopped processing for a split second. She jumped back to reality, “Come on in, I’ll go get these in some water.”

Joel followed her into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. It was modest, minimally decorated but the walls had pictures strung all over them. He could already tell she was more sentimental than materialistic. The roses had been a good decision.

Y/n made her way to her kitchen, carefully balancing as she crouched down to dig through her cabinets for a vase. Flowers. He’d brought her flowers. What guy did that on a first date? Was that a Texas gentleman thing? She didn’t particularly care, it was one of the sweetest gestures someone had ever made towards her. And tying it back to the night they’d met made it that much sweeter.

“Nice place,” Joel called from the entry area. The apartment was open so if the front door was one end, the kitchen was stretched twenty feet away from it.

“It’s decent,” Y/n replied, filling the vase with water, “Moving was such a spur of the moment decision, I didn’t think I was going to find anything.”

Joel awkwardly balled his fists at his side, he didn’t want to walk too far and cross a line. It was only then that he realized there was music playing.

“Linda Ronstadt,” he blurted.

“Oh yeah,” Y/n smiled, heading over to turn off her record player, “You like her?”

“Love her,” Joel replied, good taste in music was another box ticked for him.

“Okay,” Y/n announced, more to encourage herself, and crossed the room, “All set.”

She grabbed her purse off the hook and Joel opened the door for her.

“Where are we going?” Y/n asked as she locked the door.

This was the part Joel was dreading most of all. “Yeah,” he began, shoving his hands in his pockets, “There’s a place ‘bout ten minutes away called Tito’s. It’s, uh, it’s not the fanciest place but-“

Feeling a sudden, and most likely brief, wave of confidence wash over her, Y/n turned around and put her hand on Joel’s chest.

“Hey,” she smiled, “I don’t care about any of that. I work in a hardware store, I’m not expecting Seasons 52.”

Weight both lifted and slammed into Joel’s chest. If Y/n’s laugh could warm it, her touch could give it new life.

A corner of his mouth quirked upwards, “Okay.”

With an affirmative nod, Y/n allowed Joel to lead her down the stairs, open the car door for her and take her deep into the Friday night Austin scene…

—————————————

Tito’s had ended up being the perfect place.

There was very little a fancy restaurant could add to a date. Sure, the setting could be romantic, but that didn’t guarantee romance. At the end of the day, whether you went to the biggest hotel in the city or a fast food joint, it all boiled down to feeling that spark.

Joel and Y/n’s spark could have set fire to Austin.

“So wait,” Y/n tried to contain her laughter, they were seated out on the patio, “Tommy seriously nailed his pants��to the wall?”

Joel took a swig of his Budweiser and shrugged, “And tried to blame the nail gun.”

Y/n covered her mouth as she snorted, “So no tequila the night before a job anymore, huh?”

Joel shook his head, pointing off into the distance, “And a mile down the road, he just shot straight up in bed because I told you that story.”

Another round of laughter. “Oh gosh,” Y/n sniffled, “Can’t imagine what you two were like as kids.”

“You have any brothers or sisters?” Joel asked, every time he asked her a question, he got to stare at her. It had made him more chatty than usual.

“Two,” Y/n answered, “Sister and a brother, both older.”

“Baby of the family,” Joel observed.

“Yes, and as the age-old tale goes,” Y/n scrunched her nose and smiled, “I’m the little lost bird. Brother’s an Ivy League english teacher who vacations in Europe every year. My sister’s married to a ridiculously successful doctor and just had a baby.”

Joel listened carefully, coming up confused. “I’m not following,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin, “What about that makes you lost?”

“They’re both very settled,” Y/n answered, swirling her beer, “They both knew exactly what they wanted in life and they went for it. One of the whole reasons I moved to Austin was to try and find that…thing, you know?”

Joel nodded, “Yeah, I get it,” he decided to lighten the mood, “And the hardware store’s it, huh?”

Y/n smiled and rolled her eyes, “No, the hardware store’s not it. But it makes me happy.”

“That’s a step in the right direction, then,” Joel commented, never taking his eyes off of her.

Y/n could have sat there for the rest of the night just enjoying the warmth of his stare. “So,” she shook herself out of the daze, “What about you? Is construction your thing?”

Joel laughed under his breath, “Pays the bills. Wasn’t originally what I saw myself doin’, but it’s work.”

“What did you want to do?” Y/n asked.

“Music,” Joel answered, “Guitar.”

Y/n’s eyes widened, “You play?”

“I used to,” Joel said, knowing the question that would come after. That was the true test…”Still do sometimes, just for myself.”

“What made you stop?”

Joel sighed, staring down at the condensation that his beer had formed on the table. Either he was about to bring the night to a grinding halt or…well, he hadn’t seen the second option yet. From anyone.

“I met someone,” he started, “We had a kid. She ran out on me pretty soon after. Not a lot of time left over to go around playin’ gigs.”

The chatter around them seemed to fade as Y/n took in the reality of Joel’s answer. He was a single father, and had been for a while, it seemed. All of him made complete sense suddenly. The constant worry lines on his face, the responsibility, the work ethic…

“Boy or a girl?” Y/n took a chance and asked.

“Girl,” Joel answered, a small smile coming to his face, “She’s about to turn thirteen.”

Y/n continued, “What’s her name?”

Joel was surprised, more than surprised, that Y/n wasn’t running the other way. There weren’t a lot of women who willingly took on single dads. Here she was wanting to learn about his little family.

“Sarah.”

Y/n nodded, letting the information rest on the table. “Sarah,” she echoed, “What’s she like?”

“She’s…” Joel let out a laugh under his breath, “She’s incredible. Gets straight A’s, plays soccer, got room in her heart for just about everyone she meets…”

Y/n listened enthusiastically as Joel told stories about his stories as a single dad. How Tommy was helping to raise Sarah, how the three of them were extremely tight knit, how he wished his long hours didn’t interfere with getting to spend time with her…not even for a second did she think about leaving.

“You love her so much,” Y/n blurted before she could think it through. She just had to say it.

Joel smiled warmly over his beer bottle, “She’s my world.”

It was a moment so tender, it almost broke your heart. Joel was letting Y/n closer than anyone else had gotten…ever. And she wasn’t pulling away, she was digging in.

Inside the restaurant, there was soft music playing over a dance floor. Joel and Y/n had eyed it all evening, wondering if their night would inevitably end up there. From outside on the patio, they could hear the song change to one they both knew.

“I love this song,” Y/n said in passing.

Joel had been waiting all night for his nerves to calm or for the perfect song to transcend pass the anxiety. This was as good as it was going to get.

“You wanna dance?”

Y/n’s smile spread across her face, “Yeah.”

Joel stood and held out his hand for Y/n to take, their palms tingling at the touch. He kept a loose hold on it as he led her into the building, snaking through the crowd and onto the dance floor. Their were couples packed wall to wall, but they were able to find a pocket of space just for them.

Y/n’s heart did double time as she rested her hand on Joel’s broad shoulder. Joel pulled her towards him, connecting their hands and holding them up. They hadn’t yet been this close and it felt as intoxicating as they thought it might.

Joel’s hand rested on the higher part of Y/n’s hip. He exhaled shakily, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Slowly, they began to sway to the soft guitar.

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you….

It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do….

They moved as one, Y/n’s gaze resting over Joel’s shoulder because she knew if she looked in his eyes, she’d be overwhelmed.

Joel’s desires were doing battle with his self-control. He wanted to wrap himself around her entirely, leaving no space between their bodies. He would, of course, leave it up to her. She got to decide where the night went.

I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you…

And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you…

Their chests brushed against each other, sending a thrill through their bodies. The second it started to fade, Y/n chased it, inching closer to Joel till their torsos aligned.

Joel’s head instinctively turned towards her just as she looked up. Y/n’s nose grazed his cheek, his beard delightfully scraping her skin. If they had intended to make eye contact, they never made it there. With Joel’s breath fanning her face and the scent of his cologne enveloping her, Y/n didn’t dare move and disturb the perfection.

No, I don't wanna fall in love…

(This world is only gonna break your heart)

Feeling confidant that she wouldn’t pull away, Joel’s arm slid around Y/n’s waist, his hand resting across her lower back. Y/n’s skin felt inflamed, like the building’s walls had fallen and the heat of the night was swallowing her whole. Her cheek fell against Joel’s closing the very last bit of space that laid between them.

No, I don't wanna fall in love…

(This world is only gonna break your heart)

With you…

That was it, it was a done deal. There was nothing left for them to do but let themselves fall. Their hearts hammered in time with one another, their respective anxiety intertwining at the base of their souls and transfiguring. Instead of a storm, raging, crashing, knocking them over, it became a wave, powerful and passionate. Drawing strength from each other, they allowed the full force of their feelings to flood them.

When the night was over, Joel drove Y/n back to her apartment. They’d chatted on the drive over, but the dance had left them both stunned. Where was there to go from there? What were they supposed to say when a whole conversation had been had in each other’s arms?

They walked up the stairs, coming to Y/n’s door and nervously pausing.

“I had a great time,” Y/n said, fiddling with her keys in one hand.

“Me too,” Joel smiled, broader than his usual thin lipped smirk.

The space between them grew tense. Who was supposed to ask who out for a second date? Were they supposed to kiss? What was-

“So…” Joel set aside all his excessive thoughts, “Did I earn a shot at a second date?”

A laugh rippled through Y/n’s body, thankful that he’d been the one to bring it up. Drawing from Joel’s confidence, she closed the space between them and placed a hand on Joel’s shoulder.

“I think your chances are pretty good,” she softly told him.

Joel’s heart throbbed at both Y/n’s touch and her words. His hand found its way to her waist, not wanting to let the closeness go just yet. They only needed to move a few inches, just a few measly inches and then they’d have it all.

Joel’s breath fanned Y/n’s lips as they allowed themselves to be drawn into one another. The delicious space, hanging on the edge of desire and satisfaction, was enough for them. That was how they knew there was something different to what they felt. Just to be close was enough.

“Maybe we should wait,” Y/n whispered in their shared space, pressing her fingers into Joel’s shoulder a little, “Wouldn’t want to rush anything.”

The tip of Joel’s nose rubbed hers, admitting a defeat that didn’t feel like one. “Wouldn’t want you to think you can take advantage of me or somethin’,” Joel smirked, “I have my reputation to think of.”

Y/n’s laugh mingled with Joel’s, her skin tingling as he brushed a stray piece of hair from her face.

“I’ll call you,” Joel assured.

“I hope so,” Y/n smiled before daring to press her lips to his cheek, “Goodnight, Joel.”

“Goodnight,” Joel choked out, the touch of her kiss paralyzing him.

She unlocked her front door and headed in, Joel stood on the welcome mat until the lock clicked. Alone in the concrete hall, he boyishly kicked his foot and grinned.

Y/n rested her forehead against the front door, shaking her head and grinning.

Joel got down to his truck, started it up and fell back in his seat.

Y/n laughed against the door, playing the night back in her head.

Joel smiled and slapped the steering wheel.

They felt weightless.

—————————

2023. Outside Boston.

Grief hung like a storm cloud over the group.

Y/n had left Joel and Ellie to make a lavatory out of nature, and was walking back. They’d camped overnight in a forest, a few miles outside of Boston. Joel had instructed they were leaving as soon as the sun came up.

When she got back to their camp, she found Ellie sitting up against her tree near the creek, Joel’s jacket draped over her legs.

“He’s still not back?” Y/n asked.

“Nope,” Ellie popped her lips.

Y/n rolled her eyes, if Joel was going to boss them around, he needed to comply with his own demands. She set off into the forest, going the same way he had.

The sound of the larger creek welcomed her. She scanned the area, looking for Joel’s tall frame and finding nothing. She slapped her hands against her legs in a shrug, if anything had happened to him, they’d be dead too. Where was-

The scrape of stones caught her ear.

Y/n gazed down to see Joel, hunched over on the river’s bed of rocks. With a fair bit of distance between them, Y/n could see him stacking stones. He was building a cairn.

He was building Tess a grave.

Y/n’s feelings contradicted themselves. Joel’s loss of the woman he cared for felt karmic, in a way, and yet the sight of him, so broken and empty, reminded her that bitterness had no place commingling with loss.

She didn’t disturb his memorial, she simply leaned against a nearby tree. Tess’ last wish hadn’t been selfish, she had begged for protection for Joel. They were, perhaps, the most heartbreaking final words Y/n had ever heard. She’d promised Tess, what else was she supposed to do? She couldn’t let Tess die in a horrific sacrifice thinking that Joel would meet her soon after.

Y/n sighed, letting her head hit the tree. The day was already exhausting her.

She decided to let Joel have a few extra minutes, walking back to their campsite. Ellie was in the exact same position as when she left. All of this trauma was being rehashed for one girl, but Y/n still believed she was worth it.

Footsteps behind her signaled that Joel was back from his solitary service. He didn’t look in either Y/n or Ellie’s direction, only trudging to his backpack and squatting beside it. It had been a near silent walk from Boston, Ellie asking Y/n an occasional question or Joel giving directions. They were all avoiding each other for different reasons.

Joel blamed Ellie.

Y/n blamed Joel.

And Ellie blamed no one, but could sense tension when she saw it.

“You want your jacket back?” Ellie asked Joel, testing the waters.

Joel continued digging through his backpack, responding with a small shake of the head. He still refused to look at her. The only gesture he made was after digging out and taking a bite of food, he threw the remainders to Ellie.

“I’ve never been in the woods,” the girl continued talking, “More bugs than I thought.”

Y/n leaned up against a tree, waiting and watching how the interaction played out.

“Look, I’ve been thinking about-“ Ellie started.

Joel rose to his feet, throwing his backpack over his shoulder, “I don’t want your sorries.”

Ellie sat forward, “I wasn’t gonna say I’m sorry. I was gonna say that I’ve been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever, and you made a choice. So don’t blame me for something that isn’t my fault.”

Joel’s eyes scanned Ellie before looking to Y/n, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. She was in total agreement. And the truth was, Joel didn’t have a reason to put any of what happened on Ellie. But he wanted someone to be angry with, someone to fling his grief at so that he wouldn’t have to deal with it any longer.

The rational side of him won out. He gave Ellie a small nod, mentally collected himself and picked up his rifle. It was time to hit the road.

Ellie got up and handed Joel his jacket, “How much longer?”

“Five-hour hike,” he answered.

Y/n collected her backpack, tied her jacket around her waist and came to stand with Ellie.

“We can manage that,” the girl shrugged, she was the most confidant out of all three of them.

Joel glanced over at Y/n again, the two of them communicating their indifference wordlessly, before turning on his heel.

Y/n put a hand on Ellie’s head and waited for Joel to be out of earshot, “Attagirl.”

Ellie smiled up at the woman and they fell in step a few feet behind their guide.

Joel got them out of the woods and onto a dirt path, leading their party silently and expecting the same in return. Y/n was perfectly content not to utter a word, but Joel was quickly learning something she already knew; Ellie didn’t do “quiet.”

“You’ve gone this way a lot? No infected?”

“Not often, no,” Joel answered.

“What are you looking out for?” Ellie asked.

“People.”

“Oh,” she rested a beat, “Are Bill and Frank nice?”

“Frank is.”

Y/n stepped forward to walk alongside them, keeping to Ellie’s side. “You haven’t told us anything about them,” she spoke up.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Joel answered.

“I’m entrusting two strangers with our lives,” Y/n scoffed, “There’s a lot to tell.”

“They’re good,” Joel said with finality to his tone.

“Oh, well…” Y/n mumbled under her breath, she was over the whole What-I-Say-Goes front.

Ellie was undeterred by their bickering. “How’d you get that scar on your head?”

Joel sighed, already exasperated and it was barely morning.

“What? Is it something lame?” Ellie inquired excitedly, “Like, you fell down the stairs or something?”

“I didn’t fall down any stairs,” Joel answered.

“Okay, so what then?”

Joel paused before speaking, “Someone shot at me and missed.”

Y/n hated the jolt of concern that shot through her chest. Old habits and all that.

“See, that’s cool,” Ellie insisted, “You shoot back?”

“Yeah,” Joel said.

“You get him?”

“No, I missed too. It happens more often than you think.”

Ellie thought it over, “‘Cause you suck at shooting or, like, in general?”

Joel glanced at her, vaguely insulted, “In general.”

Ellie fell back a step to get a look at Y/n. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Y/n echoed.

“How’d you get this scar?” Ellie poked the white mark on her bare shoulder. She didn’t feel comfortable touching Joel, but she was comfortable with Y/n.

By now, Y/n had scars littered all across her body. Ellie could have pointed to almost any one of them and she would have had to think about where it came from. But the one in the rivet nestled between her scapula and her clavicle was one she could never forget.

“A bullet ricocheted off a wall,” she answered, “Hit me instead.”

“That’s slightly less cool than his,” Ellie commented.

Joel caught himself before he hung back a step to get a look at the mark. It was instinct to worry about her.

“You know, seeing as it’s just the three of us,” Ellie began, “I was thinking I should prob-“

“No,” Joel cut her off, already knowing what she was after.

“Yeah, well, Y/n might feel different,” Ellie said, looking to her only ally.

“She doesn’t,” Y/n answered, smirking slightly at her blind enthusiasm.

They walked a few more feet before coming up on a once-white building.

“Cumberland Farms,” Ellie read the sign.

“Hang back a minute,” Joel instructed them both, though he knew it was useless, “I gotta grab some stuff I stashed.”

“Stashed?” Ellie questioned as she followed, “Why do you have stuff stashed here?”

“You ask a lot of damn questions,” Joel complained.

“Yes,” Ellie smiled, owning every bit of her personality, “I do.”

Joel forced open the door to the old storefront and they entered. It looked just about the same as how he and Tess had left it a few years back.

“So are you gonna answer me or what?” Ellie continued.

Joel relented, “We hide supplies on routes, in case we find ourselves short on gear, which I currently am ‘cause-“

“No way,” Ellie zipped over to the other side of the room, honing in on an old arcade game.

Joel ignored her, Y/n simply smiled to herself.

“You ever play this one?” Ellie asked without really seeking an answer, “Oh, I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There’s this one character named Mileena, who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth-“

While Ellie continued chattering, Joel was pacing the floor, trying to remember where his hiding place had been. Y/n crossed her arms and watched amusedly.

“You forgot where you put your stuff,” Ellie stated.

Joel was quick to defend himself, “No, I’m just zeroing in on it. It’s been a couple of years.”

Ellie and Y/n peered over at one another, sharing a knowing smirk.

“Go see if you can find anything in back,” Y/n instructed, Ellie would have gone even without the prompting, “Practical.”

“Trust me, it’s all been picked over already,” Joel grunted, shaking a wall display.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Ellie replied in a sing-song tone, “Is there anything bad in here?”

“Just you,” Joel called out.

“Ah,” Ellie rolled her eyes, “Getting funnier…”

Y/n set down her backpack, deciding to help speed up the process so they could get back on the road. She walked over to a section of floor that Joel hadn’t searched yet and started kicking around.

“I don’t need help,” Joel muttered.

“If we leave it to you and your shitty memory,” Y/n strained as she shoved a shelving unit with her shoulder, “We’ll be here till dark.”

Joel didn’t want to get drawn into an argument, he also couldn’t resist the person starting it. “My memory’s fine.”

“Oh, really?” Y/n waved a hand across the floor, “Point to the treasure.”

Joel’s lips thinned in frustration, mostly with himself for not being able to find the stash before she latched onto it.

“It’s somewhere on this aisle,” he begrudgingly told her.

“This aisle,” she repeated, the two of them going in opposite directions.

After a minute or two, there was a sound from the back room. “You all right back there?” Joel called.

“Yep!” Ellie replied.

“How likely is it that she’s doing something she shouldn’t be?” Joel asked Y/n, who had weeks more experience curbing Ellie.

Y/n jumped in place on a loose piece of the floor, “100%.”

Joel exhaled and continued searching, eventually feeling a slight raise in one of the tiles. He kicked a few old newspapers aside to discover his hiding spot. And better yet, he’d found it before Y/n did, taking away the opportunity for gloating.

He knelt down and flipped open his pocketknife, cutting open the cover and removing it.

Y/n stopped her hunt and came to crouch down next to him, visually sifting through the supplies. There wasn’t much.

It went against Joel’s natural programming to not be concerned when the back room went silent. Ellie had been gone long enough to have picked through everything at least twice. “Ellie?”

No response.

Now Y/n was on edge as well, rising with Joel. She raised her voice a little louder than him, “Ellie?”

They both unholstered their guns, walking in rhythm together towards the back room. Joel stuck a hand out to form a barrier between whatever unknown threat might have been lurking and Y/n. She annoyedly shoved it away and aimed her gun at the doorway.

They unclenched when Ellie walked out, touting a box of tampons. “Picked over, my ass,” she commented.

Y/n and Joel returned to the stash, Joel unloading his assault rifle and Y/n picking through a tin of first aid supplies.

“What are you doing?” Ellie asked Joel.

“There’s not much ammo out there for this thing,” he replied, bringing the lid back down over the supplies, “Makes it mostly useless.”

Ellie saw an opportunity, “Well, if you’re just gonna leave it there…”

Joel stood to his feet and made direct eye contact, “No.”

Y/n stood up, slung her backpack over her shoulder and lightly pushed Ellie ahead of her. Tess was no longer there to keep occupy Joel and she wanted to put as much space between the two of them as possible.

They were on the dirt road for another hour or two, time didn’t seem to matter in the middle of nowhere. Ellie barely complained, content to take in all that nature had left to offer. At some point, Y/n and Joel had fallen in step with one another. Even sworn enemies would have cracked under pressure and started hurling insults at one another. Their ability to stay silent with one another was unmatched.

“So,” Ellie eventually killed the quiet, “Are you ever going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Y/n replied.

“Why you two broke up.”

Joel scrunched his eyes shut, the darkness of his lids a more preferable place to be.

Y/n took the hit and answered, “We never said we dated.”

“You didn’t have to. You knew each other in Texas but you don’t talk,” Ellie began to list off her reasons, “And when you do talk, it’s only to fight.”

“Friends fight too,” Y/n suggested.

Ellie scoffed, “Not like you two.”

There was passion that bled through Joel and Y/n’s arguments that was only born from love. It was one thing they’d never be able to change.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Ellie continued, “I’ll just know that I’m right.”

Joel stopped short, putting a hand up to Ellie and trying to stay calm. “You do not need to say every fuckin’ thing that pops into your head,” he said, driving certain syllables harder than others.

Ellie was unfazed by him, turning her gaze to Y/n. “Was he always this grumpy?”

Y/n sighed, her time in Austin was a piece of her past she didn’t want anyone having. The obviousness of her and Joel’s fractured connection bothered her, it made it that much harder to sever it entirely. She picked up the pace again, getting ahead of Joel and Ellie.

Joel’s eyes followed her, something inside of him twinging against his will. He spared a glance at Ellie and continued on the path.

“Yeah,” Ellie smiled to herself, “They dated.”

They walked a little further before Ellie got distracted by something in a field. “Holy shit,” she exclaimed.

Up on a hilltop lay the rusted remains of a plane crash. The three of them stopped, it was getting harder for Joel and Y/n to remember a world where things like airplanes had existed.

“You fly in one of those?” Ellie asked,

“A few times, sure,” Joel answered.

“Yeah,” Y/n said.

Ellie’s excited eyes scanned the wreck, “So lucky.”

“Didn’t feel like it at the time,” Joel recalled, “Get shoved into a middle seat, pay twelve bucks for a sandwich…”

“Or hit turbulence,” Y/n remembered.

“You got to go up in the sky,” Ellie stated, her voice filled with wonder. Another simple pleasure stolen from her…

Joel had always been more of a realist than Y/n, who wanted Ellie to hold on to whatever pieces of happiness she could. “Yeah, well, so did they,” he added, killing the levity of the moment.

“Grim…” Ellie commented as they continued walking. “So everything came crashing down in one day?”

“Pretty much,” Joel answered, giving Y/n space to interject. She’d gone silent again.

“How?” Ellie asked, “I mean, no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody’s fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey.”

Y/n almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Almost.

“It wasn’t a monkey,” Joel answered, “I thought you went to school.”

“FEDRA school,” Ellie replied quickly, “They don’t teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.”

Joel sighed, he couldn’t fault her for wanting to know how her world was destroyed before she’d even gotten there.

“No one knows for sure, but, best guess,” he began, “Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, all across the world. Bread, cereal…”

Joel and Y/n didn’t have to look at one another to know they were having the same thought.

“Pancake mix,” Joel continued, “You eat enough of it, it’ll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thrusday night or Friday morning. Day goes on…they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse,” Joel paused, a flash of blood coming to his mind, “Then they started bitin’.”

Y/n shut her eyes, as if it was all playing out in front of her again.

“Friday night,” Joel was able to push out, “September 26th, 2003. And by Monday, everything was gone.”

Y/n didn’t know whether to scream or stay quiet. Her entire world had come crashing down in a span of 72 hours.

“It makes more sense than monkeys,” Ellie said, then looked at Joel, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” he replied. Joel still wasn’t sure what to do with her, but he was trying. He only had to try for a few more hours, anyway.

Y/n kept her eyes down as she walked, only stopping when Ellie and Joel fell out of step. Joel had his arm stretched over Ellie’s chest to keep her in place.

“What now?” Y/n asked, nearing her breaking point with patience.

“We’ll cut across the woods here,” Joel directed.

“Isn’t the road easier?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah, it’s just,” Joel took a breath, looking ahead to Y/n, “There’s stuff up there you shouldn’t see.”

Y/n chortled, she couldn’t take any more of his mood swings. One minute he didn’t care, the next he was watching out for their sensitive eyes?

“Well, now I have to see,” Ellie sang, walking ahead to join Y/n.

“I don’t want you to,” Joel pushed.

“Newsflash, Joel,” Y/n announced, “It’s the fucking apocalypse. We’ve all seen things we don’t want to see.”

Joel paced after them, chasing Ellie more than his ex, “I’m not kidding. Ellie!”

“Can it hurt us?” Ellie asked as Y/n fell behind her.

“No,” Joel answered truthfully.

She spun around to face him as she strolled, “You’re too honest, man, Should’ve said axe murderer.”

While Ellie walked ahead, Joel sped up to match Y/n’s pace. “I’m serious, she shouldn’t see it.”

“You know what,” Y/n didn’t break stride, “I’m sure our delicate little sensibilities can handle whatever it is.”

Anger is intoxicating, but it can also be all-encompassing. It can numb all other senses, blinding all other emotions until the red is staining every part of someone’s perspective. Y/n’s rage with Joel was deceiving her into thinking everything that came out of his mouth was either an insult or an overreaction. Joel knew that the second she found what he was trying to shield her and Ellie from, she’d regret it instantly. But it was futile to fight her.

“Uh, whatever it was,” Ellie called from the front of the group, “Think it’s gone.”

Y/n felt sure of herself as she trudged on, until the details of Ellie’s expression came into view and she followed the girl’s eyes. There in a ditch, lay skeletal remains. If you reconstructed them, they probably made up about a dozen people.

“About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers…” Joel started to explain to Ellie, “Went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were going to a QZ, and you were…if there was room…if there wasn’t…”

“These people weren’t sick?” Ellie inquired.

“No,” Joel replied, “Probably not.”

“Why kill them?” Ellie continued, “Why not just leave ‘em be?”

“It was their fucked up way of trying to contain the infection,” Y/n spoke up, trying to hide her trembling breath. It wasn’t the first open grave she’d seen, this was one of the easier ones to stomach. This was all bones.

Y/n turned on her heel, eager to get as far away from the hellish memories as she could.

————————————

Eventually, they made it to where Joel told them Bill and Frank lived. It was a small chunk of a town completely gated by a tall fence.

“Stay here,” Joel instructed Y/n and Ellie before punching in the entry code on the gate’s keypad. He let them go through first, it was the only place safe enough to do so.

Y/n’s breath caught in her chest, it was the first time she’d seen an actual town in…she’d lost count of the years. The white picket fences, the boutique shops, the houses. Actual houses. It nearly brought tears to her eyes, it reminded her so much of Austin.

The three of them walked to Bill and Frank’s house, the nicest looking one on the block. Joel took notice, however, that the flowers decorating the front porch were dead. Scorched by the sun. Bill would never let that happen.

He opened the front door, taking cautious steps into the entryway. Y/n and Ellie followed close behind.

“What the fuck,” Ellie elongated, it was probably her first time inside an actual house.

“Bill?” Joel called out. No answer. “Frank?” Nothing.

Shit.

“You stay there,” Joel directed Ellie, not looking Y/n’s way since she was going to do what she wanted anyway, “Ya hear anything, you see anything…yell.”

Joel and Y/n didn’t make it more than one step before Ellie spoke up, “What if they’re gone?”

No. Joel couldn’t think about that. He didn’t want to grieve over one more person.

Y/n set off down the hallway, keeping her pistol drawn at her side. Joel had gone through the kitchen, but the two rooms were connected. They made it to the bedroom door at the same time, Joel knocking and jiggling the knob. Nothing.

“Would they leave?” Y/n asked.

“No,” Joel shook his head.

The back porch door shutting got their attention.

“Ellie?” Y/n called, getting nothing in return. She set off back to the dining room where they’d left her, Joel just a step behind.

She was sitting at the table holding a piece of paper. Her expression was undeterminable, like she was between emotions and deciding which one to land on.

“It’s from Bill,” she finally told them.

Y/n sighed, holstering her gun, taking off her backpack and settling into a chair between Joel and Ellie. Joel put away his weapon too, neither of them needed to pretend there was any hope.

Ellie scanned the envelope the letter had come from, “‘To whomever…but probably Joel,’” she tossed it back onto the table, “I figured I fell under “whomever.” It came with this.”

She slid a single car key across the table.

Joel shrugged his backpack off next to Y/n’s, but wouldn’t sit. “So they’re dead?”

“Mm-hmm,” Ellie hummed.

Joel turned away, the very little emotion he let himself feel coming to the surface.

“You-you wanna?” Ellie offered.

He shook his head, “Go ahead. You do it.”

Y/n leaned against her knees, holding her hands to her lips, bracing herself.

“August 29th, 2023,” Ellie began to read, “If you find this…please do not come into the bedroom. We left a window open so the house wouldn’t smell, but it will probably be a sight. I’m guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would’ve been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps. Hehehehehehe-“

Ellie looked up in confusion, Y/n gave a small nod for her to continue.

“Take anything you need,” she kept going, “The bunker code is the gate code but in reverse. Anyway…I never liked you, but still, it’s like we’re friends, almost…And I respect you. So, I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and God help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep-“

Ellie sucked her bottom lip, not knowing how to proceed. None of them had to ask what the next two words were.

Joel stepped forward robotically and took the letter, reading the rest over silently. Tess’ name struck a blow to his body, he wanted to curl in on himself.

“Stay here,” he mumbled, striding towards the front door with barely contained hurry.

Y/n shut her eyes, keeping her hands in a praying position. It was the first time in twenty years she couldn’t tap into the anger that lived inside her. She felt pure sorrow that Joel had to lose someone else he loved, regardless of whether he’d ever admit to loving Tess.

Outside, Joel took deep breaths that at one time would have been described as cleansing. But he felt no better when he inhaled than he had before. Bill’s letter weren’t just his last wishes, it was a call to action. He couldn’t have known the situation Joel was in when he wrote it, but he supernaturally addressed every part of it. He lifted up a silent apology to Tess, for not being able to save her.

Joel crumpled the letter in his palms and let it drop to the grass. He held up the key Bill had left him, forcing himself to move to the garage doors and open them.

Y/n and Ellie sat up straighter upon hearing the noise. “Stay here,” Y/n echoed Joel, rising up and heading out to see what he was doing.

She walked around to the open garage doors to see Joel hunched over the front of a truck. The hood was open and he was investigating its internal organs. Y/n had barely caught a glance at the empty spot where the battery should have been before Joel slammed it shut. There went that happy thought…

Joel’s eye caught the refrigerator nearby, a couple cans of oil and other auto supplies sitting on top of it. Bill had been a survivalist, it was his nature to prepare for every possible outcome. He crossed the space and opened the fridge, spotting the materials needed to construct a car battery from scratch

He smirked, maybe they had been friends…

Y/n joined him at the door, she was no mechanic but the men throughout her life, Joel and Tommy included, had taught her enough about car repair to know they were battery parts. A spark of hope lit inside her.

It dwindled in both her and Joel when the reality of what it meant hit them.

Y/n suddenly felt too close to him, she moved away and crossed her arms, going to stand on the furthest side of the truck. Joel didn’t move until she stopped, coming to stand on the other side of the vehicle. They wanted a proper barricade between them.

Y/n had made a promise to Tess that she would protect both Ellie and Joel. In the moment, it had seemed like the only honorable thing to do. Now, staring down the task itself, she wanted to admit her selfishness and run. Run back to the QZ, back to the Fireflies, back to the only semblance of safety she had. And with every turn she made in her mind, Ellie was waiting for her. Ellie was at the center of this all. She was the job. Everything else came second.

“If we do this,” Y/n started, her words slowly and cautiously calculated, “You are going to have to start treating me like an equal. I am not some delicate flower that you need to protect and I’m not some child in need of protection. We’ve already got one of those. I live in the same world you do. I didn’t hesitate to kill that Clicker,” she pointed behind them as if the monster’s carcass was present, “And I won’t hesitate going forward.”

Joel looked up at her out his eyebrows, “Can you blame me, last time I knew you?”

“We don’t need to keep bringing us up,” Y/n shook her head, a joyless smile on her face, “We are completely different people. Matter of fact, think of us as strangers. We only know each other from this point forward.”

Joel thought it over a second, accepting the truth of it. “Okay,” he said, “But you have to trust me that I know the best way to get to Wyoming-“

“I don’t trust you,” Y/n retorted.

“I don’t trust you either,” he echoed, bitterness rising to both their surfaces.

Y/n bit down on her bottom lip, if this was going to work, they needed to put away all of their past. Not just the good parts.

“We have to put this on ice,” she said, “What matters…is her. That is all that matters. Not us, not what happened…her.”

Joel’s thumb twitched against the hood of the truck. There were many questions he’d been wanting to ask Y/n, but there was one that was non-negotiable if he was going to take on this task with her

“Do you actually believe that she’s the answer to this?”

Y/n’s face softened, only slightly, but enough for Joel to see the gleam hope in her eyes. “I do,” she replied, earnestly.

Joel breathed a heavy sigh, looking down at the truck. He glanced back up at Y/n, scanning her up and down as if to take full stock of the woman she was now. “Okay.”

Y/n nodded, her body alight with apprehension. “Okay.”

A ceasefire had been called.

“I’ll start on the battery,” Joel announced, eager to get away from the conversation as quick as he could, “Can you do a once over on this thing?”

“Yeah,” she answered, forcing past the hurdle that was doing something Joel asked of her.

They worked in silence, Y/n checking that the car was in working condition and Joel constructing their battery. It was the first time they’d been able to tolerate each other’s presence in the last two days.

After a half hour, when Y/n was long past done, Joel stepped back and examined his work. “It’s gotta charge for a while,” he announced, “But it’ll work.”

“Okay,” Y/n sighed, glancing over at him before heading back out the garage. Joel was close behind.

They came back into the house, finding Ellie waiting for them at the table still.

“Show me your arm,” Joel ordered, he needed to be 100% certain that she was safe to transport.

Ellie stood and rolled up her sleeve, the second bite still had blood caked around it, but it was clearly healing. They had no reason to doubt it would continue that way.

“I just finished makin’ a truck battery,” Joel said, “It’s charging right now.”

“Okay,” Ellie replied, her face showing a hint of hope.

“And I have a brother in Wyoming,” Joel continued, “He’s in some kinda trouble, and I’m heading out there to find him. He used to be a Firefly. And my guess is he knows where some of ‘em are out there. Maybe they can get you two to wherever this lab is.”

Ellie’s eyes bounced between Y/n and Joel, “All right. Uh,” she began to fiddle with her hand, “Listen, about Tess-“

Joel held up a hand, he took a second to collect himself before speaking. “If I’m takin’ you with me, there’s some rules you gotta follow. Rule one, you don’t bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves.”

Y/n made a mental note of where Joel was emotionally.

“Rule two, you don’t tell anyone about your…condition,” Joel focused his eyes on Ellie, trying to drive the point home, “They see that bite mark, they won’t think it through. They’ll just shoot you. Rule three,” he pointed between him and Y/n, “You do what we say, when we say it. We clear?”

“Yes,” Ellie answered.

“Repeat it,” Joel demanded.

Ellie took a breath, “What you say goes,” she looked between the two adults once more, “Are you two gonna be able to get along?”

Joel glanced over his shoulder at Y/n, who was leaned up against the door frame. She had her hands tucked behind her as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. They communicated their truce with their eyes.

“We’ll be fine,” Y/n said to Ellie, maybe saying it would make it so…

Joel sighed, it felt like he was signing on a metaphorical dotted line. “Okay,” he finally said.

The three of them stood in the dining room, all with their own separate reservations but with no choice in the matter. They needed each other, even if no one dared to admit it.

“So what now?” Ellie broke the silence.

“We grab what we can,” Joel responded, “Let’s check the bunker first.”

He brushed past Y/n, who followed with Ellie in tow, and located the hidden entrance to Bill’s bunker. Joel climbed down the ladder first into the pitch black room. Flipping on the lights revealed walls of canned goods, guns, supplies, various tools and first aid kits. In the middle lay a desk setup with a laptop playing music and monitor screens showing footage of outside the house.

“Ho-ly shit,” Ellie said for both her and Y/n, “This guy was a genius.”

“Little bit,” Y/n added, scanning the walls, “Back then, everyone called people like him crazy. I’m guessing he was okay with it.”

Joel went to work at the computer, switching off the song.

“Why was the music on?” Ellie asked.

“If he didn’t reset the countdown every few weeks,” Joel explained, “This playlist would run over the radio.”

Ellie glanced over the screen, assured now of her theory from the day before about Joel’s radio codes. “‘80s.”

Joel didn’t really care anymore, “Grab some cans from over there. Nothin’ dented or swollen.”

Ellie wasn’t so easily distracted, she was still gazing at the guns. “Dude,” she started to draft another pitch.

“No,” he replied without even looking up at her.

“There’s a whole wall of them,” she declared, as if that made a difference.

Joel shot her a glare, signaling there was no discussion to be had. Searching Y/n out again and receiving a frown in response, Ellie backed off and went to collect the canned goods.

Y/n traced her fingers across the wall of guns. She doubted her pistol was going to get them very far. It had taken an assault rifle and an axe just to kill the Clicker that had attacked them.

She loathed to ask Joel for help, but she was good at shooting, not specs. “Which one takes the most basic ammo?”

Joel peered up from the monitor screens, the sight of her standing amongst so many weapons was still a little shocking. “That beige and black one,” he nodded in her direction, “Standard shotgun.”

Y/n nodded once in awkward thanks and removed the gun from the wall, testing the weight and feel of it. She crossed the room to one of Bill’s work tables and took a box of bullets, stuffing it in her jacket pocket.

“I’m gonna start upstairs,” she announced, strapping the shotgun over her back and climbing up the ladder.

The three of them worked around the house, collecting any and all supplies they could possibly need. Ellie found toilet paper, Y/n found some unopened dry goods, Joel found clothes for them. It was strange to think that once upon a time, desires had felt like essentials. A new TV, concert tickets, expensive wine…Y/n felt like she was seeing heaven when Joel pulled out a box of women’s t-shirts.

Joel monitored the battery closely, it wasn’t charging as fast as he wanted it to. “Needs another hour,” he told them.

“They have hot water!” Ellie exclaimed, soaking her hand under the garage’s running faucet, “I’m takin’ a shower. And then you’re showering, because seriously,” she turned to Joel and scowled as he headed back to the house.

Joel stopped what he was doing, unsure of how to respond. “I smell that bad?”

Y/n was sorting through some shelves, collecting a few tools they could take with them for the truck. “I’m not even answering that,” she replied.

Joel took what he could from her answer. “You take the next one,” he offered, trying to put his money where he mouth was and bench their grudge.

“Should I be offended?” Y/n fired back, raising one eyebrow. “Thank you,” she finally said.

Joel gave a nod in reply before getting back to work.

Y/n eventually headed inside to wait for Ellie to be done. The girl emerged with wet hair in fresh clothes.

“That felt so good,” she groaned in happiness as she passed Y/n in the hall.

“I bet,” Y/n smiled, “There extra towels in there?”

“Yep,” Ellie called, she was already halfway down the stairs, passing Joel as she descended.

If Y/n and Joel had dodged any awkwardness in the past 48 hours, it had boomeranged back around and slammed into them. They stood in the hall, keeping three feet of space between them and struggled for words.

“I’ll be quick,” Y/n said finally, heading into the bedroom that connected to the bathroom.

“Sure,” Joel replied, fiddling with his fist at his side.

Showers were one thing that no one ever took for granted anymore. Water supply in the QZ wasn’t consistent, one day you could have warm water and the next it’d be ice cold. You couldn’t count on anything to stay the same. So when Y/n had complete control of the temperature and made it burning hot, she felt like she could cry from pure joy.

Joel stood outside the bedroom door, leaned up against the wall. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Sweet images of early mornings with Y/n stormed past his defenses, flooding his brain. How she looked with wet hair, the smell of her skin after using some soap he couldn’t remember the name of…he tried to ignore the fact that it was all on the other side of the door.

Y/n emerged from the shower a few minutes later, having gotten all the dirt out of her hair and nails, and wrapped a threadbare towel around her torso. She quickly dried off and changed into the new clothes Joel had found them. It was a plain t-shirt, a men’s button up to go over it and a plain pair of jeans. Gone were the days of dressing up because you felt like it. It was a stupid thing to miss, but Y/n felt the loss regardless.

Dressed, she opened the bathroom door. The sound signaled that Joel could come in.

He came around the corner, having just put his memories to bed when he saw her. Pruny, barefaced and natural…the way he’d always loved her.

“All yours,” Y/n muttered, unable to break the eye contact they held.

Joel cleared his throat and his mind, “Thanks.”

“I’m just gonna be here,” Y/n gestured to the dresser and the attached mirror, “Try and get a comb through my hair.”

“Okay,” Joel nodded.

He walked past her, their shoulders brushing as he did, and closed the bathroom door behind him. It was the first time they’d touched in twenty years.

Now anger was rarely ever born from just anger. No one hated someone just to hate them. There was always something deeper beneath it. More often than not, anger found a companion in heartbreak. They’d collide, morphing together to make something so complicated, you couldn’t tell one apart from the other.

Y/n reached for a spare comb, her trembling hands causing her hair to catch in the teeth. Harboring the anger had been effortless, it was a fire that stoked itself. It was the pain, the flame that started the blaze, that was causing her to feel like she was burning, from the inside out.

The tears welled in her eyes, she refused to let them fall until her reflection was nothing but a blur. She dropped the comb on the dresser, and fell back onto the bed. It could no longer be contained.

Joel had broken her, destroyed her. The loss of him was a hurt that had refused to fade with time. She could feel her heart splitting back open just being around him, the same way it had the day that they’d parted. She wanted to scream, to cry, to break the way she had after he’d left. With the simple act of calling a truce and playing nice, she had reopened the wound she had spent twenty years trying to heal with her unbridled bitterness. She was bleeding out.

On the other side of the door, Joel was propped up against the shower with one hand. Rivulets of the stream dripped down his hair and face. He stared down at the drain, his emotions mixing and swirling much like the water at his feet. Joel had never considered himself particularly favored by the world. There were only two times when he’d felt like there was some higher power bestowing happiness upon his unworthy head.

The first was when Sarah was born, when he got to hold her for the first time.

The second was when Y/n entered his life.

Now her mere presence felt like a punishment. A reminder of what he’d done to her, a child’s taunt of a love he could never go back to. Knowing she was on the other side of the wall caused every muscle in his body to tense. Joel was still himself, regardless of what the pandemic had turned him into. The guilt he’d long tried to drown was rising to the surface, threatening to rebel and throw him underwater. Mixed with the fresh loss of Tess, he was overwhelmed. If he didn’t keep repeating the same three things to himself, she lied, she’s a liar, she’ll lie again, he would collapse entirely.

Y/n sniffled, rubbing her fingers under her eyes in a desperate attempt to stop her tears. She was so tired of crying over Joel. She wished for blind hatred, not the memory of his smile. Bitter regret, not the ghost of his lips. She couldn’t take another time of looking into his eyes and seeing the man she had loved with her whole heart.

Had they known that with a mere twelve feet of space and one shoddy door between them, it still wouldn’t have changed anything. Their chapter was over.

Needing distance, Y/n got off the bed and combed her hair as she walked down the stairs. She found Ellie seated in the front room at the piano.

Ellie turned to her and smiled, “Well, that’s an improvement.”

Y/n bristled, “Be nice to me. I am keeping you alive, after all.”

Ellie hummed as if that was up for debate and turned back to the piano, “You ever learn to play one of these?”

“A little,” Y/n replied, coming to join her, “I played as a kid, not as much when I was an adult.”

“You wanna play something?” Ellie suggested, it didn’t feel like it was for Y/n’s benefit so much as her own.

Y/n motioned for Ellie to make room and settled in next to the girl. It had been over twenty years since she’d felt ivory beneath her fingers, and this one was a beautiful model. She wracked her brain for songs where all the chords were still intact.

She placed her hands accordingly, pressing down on the first keys.

“Slow down, you crazy child,” she softly sang, “You’re so ambitious for a juvenile. But then if you’re so smart, tell me, why are you still so afraid?”

“You can fucking sing?” Ellie cried excitedly.

“Where's the fire, what's the hurry about,” Y/n kept going, “You'd better cool it off before you burn it out. You've got so much to do and only so many hours in a day.”

Ellie swayed a little, taking in the curiosity of the person she hardly knew, yet liked better than anyone. She couldn’t help herself from sneaking a finger onto a key and quickly pressing down.

“Don’t mess me up,” Y/n laughed as she continued to play, “But you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want, or you can just get old.”

Joel had just pushed his wet hair back and buttoned up his shirt he’d found. Renewed by the hot water, he grabbed the stick of deodorant he’d used and left the bathroom. The music and it’s sweet accompaniment drifted through the bedroom door, hitting Joel and rendering him breathless for a moment. All he could feel was her, wrapping her arms around him with each word.

Ellie continued to hit random keys at inopportune times, Y/n’s knocked her shoulder against hers.

“You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through,” Y/n crooned, her grin causing her to enunciate differently.

Joel quietly made his way down the stairs, feeling his body unnaturally relax with each note Y/n sang. Her voice hadn’t changed at all.

“When will you realize,” Y/n did a little flourish with the keys, leaving Ellie no room to mess with the melody, “Vienna waits for you.”

When she removed her hands, Ellie clapped and whooped. The mood had been so dark since the day of the shootout, it felt like a single ray of light was shining down on them.

Joel watched her sing the last line from the hall, it was like his memories had come to life right in front of him. How hard was it to bury the past when it was everywhere you looked?

Ellie turned around and saw Joel, “Well, don’t you look pretty.”

Y/n rotated on the bench and faced Joel. It was unfair that he seemed to be getting more handsome with age. With his hair slicked back and his plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows, it stirred up a singular butterfly in her stomach. She was quick to put it down.

Joel’s eyes flashed to Y/n before catching himself and looking back to Ellie, “Shut up.”

He tossed her the deodorant. “Nice,” she commented, swiping it on before handing it to Y/n. “Hey,” she trailed after Joel, “Did you know Y/n can sing?”

Y/n snorted as she used the antiperspirant. Ellie was the only thing keeping her spirits up on the trip. Everything else hurt, but the young girl’s joy acted as a balm.

Joel went back out to the garage to confirm the battery was charged up. He installed it quickly and headed back into the house. “We’re good to go,” he announced, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Ellie and Y/n grabbed their jackets and bags, the three of them filed out of the house in hopeful silence. They shoved their things in the back seat of the truck, leaving one side clutter-free.

“Why don’t you take the front?” Y/n suggested to Ellie, already climbing in the back.

Ellie jumped into the passenger side, a toothy grin spread across her face as she started fiddling with the foldout mirror.

“It’s your first time in a car?” Joel asked from beside her, not the slightest bit amused.

“It’s like a spaceship,” Ellie said wondrously.

“No, it’s like a shit piece of Chevy S10,” Joel grumbled, “But it’ll get us there…I think. Seatbelt.”

Ellie glanced up from playing with the radio dials, confused.

Undeniably in sync with each other, Y/n reached through the gap between Ellie’s seat and the window as Joel reached over the girl and pulled the belt over her body. “Seatbelt,” Joel repeated.

Ellie took it from him and clicked it into place, “So cool…”

Y/n watched from over their shoulders. It wasn’t lost on her how it had taken no time for Joel to start acting like a parent again.

Joel started up the car as Ellie dug through the glove compartment. She held something up to Joel that Y/n couldn’t see.

“Put it back…” Joel directed, “Ellie…”

Ellie ignored him, popping in the cassette tape and hitting play. Soft guitar rang through the truck’s speaker system. Ellie was about to skip the song when Joel and Y/n piped up at the same time.

“No, no, wait-“

“No, leave it.”

Their words collided, surprising them both. It was the first thing they’d agreed on.

“This is good,” Joel said as he made a turn, “This is Linda Ronstadt. Do you know who Linda Ronstadt is?”

“You know I don’t know who Linda Ronstadt is,” Ellie rolled her eyes.

Y/n smirked from the back seat before the nostalgia washed over her again. The song had been a favorite of hers for decades, but there was one night in particular she distinctly remembered playing it on.

Joel drove down the path that led to the gate, letting the song fill the cracks of him left by all the beauty disappearing from the world. There was still a musician living inside him. “Oh, man…” he muttered.

In the rear view mirror, Y/n and Joel’s eyes flickered to one another. The second their gazes connected, they diverted them back to the road. In their minds, they were back in Y/n’s shitty apartment, leaving for their first date.

“Eh,” Ellie remarked, “It’s better than nothing.”

Y/n couldn’t contain the chuckle that bubbled from her lips, nor could Joel hide his flash of a smile. She was going to make them both feel ancient before their journey was over.

Joel pressed the gate code on the remote Bill had left in the garage, the gate opening for them like the parting of the Red Sea. Even he, in all his jadedness, felt some sort of hope.

Y/n settled against the window, taking one last look at the town Bill and Frank had kept up over the years. Their legacy was one not of sadness, but of renewal. They had supplied her, Joel and Ellie with the resources to go forward with their journey. They were helping them in their mission to change the world. It was a kindness she’d never get to thank them for, but she’d certainly never forget.

They drove into the sunset, golden hour embracing them and welcoming them onto the open road. Maybe, just maybe, this was the turning point for them…

————

A/N: Just an FYI, we hit the 50 mentions limit so the taglist will be split between the post and the comments :)

TYL Taglist: @bachiracore @stolenxkissess @kayleezra @the-wistful-reader @allthesesonsofbitches @goth-detectives365 @trippovert @rh1nestonecowg1rl @emiliaserpe @khaleesihavilliard @frietiemeloen @gracie7209 @dorck26 @thegirlnextdoorssister @alanis-altair @mariwinns16 @whosscruffylooking @endofthexline @alexiaricciardo @eonnyx @pedrosmexicangf @scarlettequinn @ao-sleepy @toinfinityandbeyonce2 @deanlovescassie @turmoil-ash @sorrowjunky @kpopslur @xxlilyxx90 @midgetpottermills @presidential-facts @scoopsnini @tubble-wubble @jamesdeerest @burninggracesandbridges @star-wars-lover @lucyhotchner @cococola-cocaine @witheringhqarts @fall-writes @alwaysdjarin @xxmoonn @emilia-the-artist @wand-erer5 @boneyarrd @lizard-zombie @itwasallinmyhead1 @cassidylea123 @paleepeaches @mxltifxnd0m @kettlekatie @ultimate-cinephile @gloryekaterina @caramelkatsukis-bitch @whovianayesha @memeorydotcom @deadunicorn159 @get0ut0fmyr00m @siriuslymooned @emmyeed

#Joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller imagine #Joel miller fanfic #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us imagine #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us fanfic #twenty years later

2K notes · View notes

hyukasmiles · 1 year ago

Note

frat boy txt who saw u from far away at a party and knew they had to have you

—Tomorrow x Together—

Description: This is just the older members. I will probs do Tae + Hyuka’s version

Fem Reader

Warnings: NSFW// virginity loss// unprotected sex// oral (f)// sex in public spaces// NOT PROOFREAD

—

•Yeonjun•

Frat Boy! Yeonjun is the WORST. And not in a funny way- no he’s horrible. The type to haze freshman pledges and dare drunk guys to jump off a five story building.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who sees you slip into his house party behind your friends and pulls the first guy he can to the side, “I bet you a hundred dollars I’ll fuck her tonight.” The man laughs him off, telling him you’re a notorious prude. “You mean like she’s saving herself for marriage? Two hundred.”

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who slips his arm over your shoulder and gets to work. He spends the whole night complimenting you, handing you drink after drink, slowly dropping his hand down your body until it’s resting on your hips.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who gets you halfway to his room before you start to push back on him. “Hold on- I’m saving myself.” You pout.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who was prepared for this, pushing you up against the wall. “I thought we really hit it off babe… I was hoping to see you again after tonight… You don’t like me? Cause I like you.” He's saying so much to you and your brain is so fuzzy from all the drinks that you find yourself nodding along.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who beams at you as you mumble., “You really like me?” He nods and leans in to leave a soft peck on your lips. “Sure thing, angel.” You bite your lip and lean against the wall. “Ok.”

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who wastes no time getting you in his bed, slipping your dress down your body as he pushes you into his mattress.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who’s surprisingly loving. He kisses down your body, leaving little bites and hickeys in wake. You part your legs for him so easily and he fits in between them even easier.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who doesn’t think to prep you. “This is still ok?” And when you nod he lines himself up and sinks in with a groan. You suck in a breath at the stretch, eyes watering as you try your hardest not to whine. “You gotta relax, sweet thing.” He breaths while trying to shove the rest of him into your tight cunt.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who almost cums when he finally bottoms out, which is weird- he’s never been sensitive like this. You look up at him with doey eyes, a mix of excitement and fear knits your eyebrows together and leaves your mouth agape.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who fucks your goey cunt so good, makes you gush around him as he drills into you. “I’m gonna make you feel so good.” He breathes, lifting one of your legs up and resting it on his shoulder. “You’ll always compare guys to me after this right?” He leans in to kiss you on the cheek, stretching you open in the process. “I gotta be good then.”

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who does make you feel so good. He makes you feel- eyes roll back into your head, toes curling, drool slipping out of your mouth- good and you love it. And so does he.

Frat Boy! Yeonjun who cums inside of you because he knows you won’t tell him no, ready to go get his money and dump you off on one of your friends but then he takes a step back and looks at you sprawled out on his bed and part of him loves it. A large part.

•Soobin•

Frat Boy! Soobin who was just dumped and doesn’t want to be at this party because he knows his ex will be here, and he knows she’ll be all over some rando, and that she’ll make sure he sees her. But he comes any because the only thing worse than letting her do that is giving her the satisfaction of winning.

Frat Boy! Soobin who has a plan. He just needs to find some hot girl to attach to for the night, give his ex a taste of her own medicine, and when he sees you walk in he knows it’s going to be you. You’re perfect, way prettier than his ex and more importantly, her friend.

Frat Boy! Soobin who walks up to you, grabs you by the wrist, and pulls you into the less crowded backyard. “What are you doing, Soobin?” You laugh and the sound is so pretty he almost forgets what he’s trying to do. He can see his ex in his peripheral vision, sitting on one of his classmates' laps. “I need your help.” He mumbles, grabbing your hips and pulling you toward him. “You gotta act like you’re really into me.” He leaves a ghost of a kiss on the corner of your mouth. “My girlfriend broke up with me, I wanna make her jealous.”

Frat Boy! Soobin who’s surprised when you wrap your arms around his neck, sure you we're going to push him away by now. “She’s a major bitch.” You laugh, “Y’know what will really get her? Eat me out in the bathroom, I’ll make sure she sees.”

Frat Boy! Soobin who agrees to it. No questions asked. He actually pulls you toward the bathroom. He doesn’t care how you’re going to show her, he just wants it to happen.

Frat Boy! Soobin who pushes you against the wall tile and sinks to his knee. He pushes your skirt up your body and actually licks his lips when he sees the wet patch forming your underwear. He kisses your clit through the pink cotton and then slips them down to your knees, hard in his pants as he dives in.

Frat Boy! Soobin who is great at eating pussy, sucks on your clit and draws light circles on your opening. He has your legs shaking as you grab your phone, snapping a couple pictures of him and sending them off to his bitch of an ex. By the time they’re delivered your knees are starting to buckles. You twist to grab onto the sink next you, moaning as he laps at your cunt.

Frat Boy! Soobin who hears the bathroom door fling open, and his ex yelling at him but he can’t stop, he wants you to cum. He feels something hit his back and the door slams and all he does is grab onto your legs to keep you up right. Your thankful for the extra support, you cannot believe his ex broke up with someone this good at head.

Frat Boy! Soobin who sinks two fingers into you and whines when you pull at his hair in response. “You’re so good at this!” You whine, hunching over as he gets you closer and closer. “So good.”

Frat Boy! Soobin who whines at your words, sending shocks of pleasure up your body, finally pushing you over the edge. “She saw?” He mumbles, knowing the answer just not wanting to leave. “You’re sure?” He kisses your thigh when you nod, still out of breath.

Frat Boy! Soobin who moves to stand up but you push down on his head while he does. He looks up at you confused- but then you spread your legs a little wider and mumble “better we’re both sure.” and he’s back in your cunt before you can finish speaking.

•Beomgyu•

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who is loud and always doing something stupid. Unless of course you’re at the party, then he’s loud and glued to your side. “Hey baby.” He’s so excited to see you, wrapping you up in a hug. “Did you finish studying?” All his friends sigh and leave, knowing how this will end.

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who any other night would be taking bets on whether or not he can do a keg stand, but when you take time from studying to come to a party his whole world becomes about you. “Are you tired? Do you wanna leave?” He mumbles, kissing you softly. “I know you have that test tomorrow.” You just smile and pull him in for another kiss. “I’m ok, baby, I’m here to party, you don’t need to do all of this.” You say the same thing every time but he can’t help it.

Frat Boy! Beomgyu whose behavior is such a 180 that the freshman boys start asking him if he’s got a headache or something. “No, I just miss my girl.”

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who is usually the last person to leave parties, most of the time he stays over whatever pledges house it is, but when you’re stood in front of him looking so pretty all he wants to do is go back to your dorm and fuck you. He makes it well known too, grabbing your hand and pressing it against his hard on multiple times throughout the night.

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who can only wait so long, pulling you into a dark corner of the empty laundry room. “I gotta fuck you baby.” He whines, picking you up and setting you on the washer. “I know.” You reply, spreading your legs for him.

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who always fucks best like this, rushed and as quiet as possible, even if it’s impossible for him to be quiet. His thrusts are deep and strong, broken whines spilling out of your mouth as he plays with your puffy clit. He goes as far as to press a hand over your mouth even if he’s the one who’s making all the noise.

Frat Boy! Beomgyu who gives you a mind shattering orgasm and goes back to the party like nothing happened. Except now he’s pumped up, going back to being as loud as usual, grabbing the first person he sees and betting them he can shotgun a beer faster. All while you sit crumpled on the couch trying to ignore the cum dripping down your thigh.

—-

Inbox always open 🫶

#txt #txt smut #beomgyu #kpop smut #soobin #soobin smut #beomgyu smut #yeonjun #yeonjun smut

632 notes · View notes

spoilmesweetieforficssake · 1 year ago

Text

This Is Kinda Nice Too (4)

So it's been a while since I posted for this prompt, but I was looking through some unfinished fics and stumbled across this. Hoping to now move this fic into my 'finished' folder, so here we are. Previous parts are linked below for context but can be read as a stand alone.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

~*~

“I gotta ask a favour,” says Melissa as she sits in her usual seat at she and Barb’s table. “Dessert. I’m just not gonna have time.”

Barb’s eyebrows raise as the red head starts to reel off all of the prep she needs to do for your dinner date. “Girl, you have got to calm down. The girl isn’t expecting a five star banquet. She’s going to be giddy over the fact she’s spending time with you, not nitpicking at your food.”

Melissa rolls her eyes. “That was all fun in the forest but this is real. I just wanna do this right.”

“You’re not going to be able to relax and enjoy yourself if all you’re worrying about is the food,” points out the kindergarten teacher.

“I’m not worrying about the food!” exclaims the red head. “Just the lack of time to make the food…and the dessert.”

With a sigh, Barb finally concedes. “Fine, I’ll make dessert, but you owe me!”

Friday after school finds Melissa in the doorway to your classroom. “Hey. Just wanted to check you’re still good for tomorrow?”

“Seven o’clock sharp,” you grin. “I can’t wait. Is there anything I can bring?”

You watch as she pushes off the doorframe, sauntering up to you and effectively stealing your breath in the process.

“How about you and that cute smile?” she smirks, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your lips, and acting far braver than she feels.

“I can do that,” you say quietly, your grin only widening.

Standing outside Melissa’s door, you take a deep breath, loosening your death grip on the flowers you brought. You know she had said you didn’t need to bring anything, but you couldn’t just turn up empty handed. And if you’d also picked up a little box of the chocolates you knew Melissa liked, well, you were only being polite.

Knocking on the now familiar door, you feel your heart rate increase at the sound of approaching footsteps from within. As the door is opened to reveal the red head, you can’t help but let your eyes wander over her curves. “You look amazing,” you tell her as she steps back to allow you in. “Even more than usual.”

Her cheeks pink in a blush as you hold out the flowers to her, smiling as she shyly takes them.

“I told you you didn’t have to bring anything.”

“I was hardly going to turn up empty handed to our first date,” you smile.

She ducks her head. “I’m gonna go fix these, you know where the coats go.” Leaving you to hang up your bag and coat, she retreats to the kitchen, trying to calm her nerves as she opens up the flowers and sets them in a vase. She looks up as you enter the kitchen. “You scrub up pretty well yourself.”

“Had a good reason to put in some effort,” you reply, putting the chocolates you had brought down by the vase of flowers.

She frowns.

“Just in case my sweet smile wasn’t quite cutting it,” you shrug.

“These are my favourites,” she says quietly as she looks more closely at the box. Not some dollar store number or some last-minute purchase from the corner store.

“Well I wasn’t going to bring you ones you don’t like.”

She closes the space between you, her fingers skimming down your arms before pulling you into a hug. “Thank you.” She pulls back, blinking to try and hide the tears that have gathered in your eyes at how thoughtful you’ve been. “Now, you go sit and I will get things plated up.”

Dinner is better than you could have hoped. The table is set with candles, casting the room in a romantic light and making Melissa’s hair glow. It reminds you of that first night by the fire, when things started to shift between the two of you. The conversation and laughter flows between you, and you realise although you’ve had a crush on her forever, you couldn’t have done this all those months ago. The friendship that’s grown between the two of you has allowed you to be you with her.

Her eyes tear up as you tell her as much. “It’s been a two way street, kid. You’ve never made me feel like I had to be anyone else with you, like who I was wasn’t enough,” she admits feeling brave in the face of your admission. “There are…things I usually hide when I meet people. Things you learned and you didn’t pity me, think less of me.”

“Why would I think any less of you for anything I’ve learned about you?” you frown. “You’re amazing. And I mean that. You are…so strong and capable and just…amazing,” you finish. “And I should say beautiful too.”

Cheeks once again flushed from more than just the heat, she stands from the table, pressing a kiss to the top of your head as she passes your chair. “Got room for dessert?”

You close your eyes at the brief contact, a smile on your lips. You don’t make to follow her, giving her a few moments to herself. “Always,” you tell her. “You know I have a sweet tooth.”

When she returns, she places a plate down in front of you. You frown, looking down at the plate. You know Melissa. You know her cooking, and this, this doesn’t look like it. “This doesn’t feel like a Schemmenti recipe.” That wasn’t to say, however, it didn’t taste good.

“That’s because it’s a Barbara Howard special,” answers the red head. “Honestly, that woman is a whizz at baking.”

“You told Barb about this?” you ask, this somehow catching you by surprise.

“Sweetie, Barb has had to put up with me having a breakdown over the menu, my timings, my prep, the whole nine yards the whole week,” laughs Melissa.

“I didn’t realise,” you breathe, feeling guilty at the fact you’d somehow missed her semi-permanent state of panic. “Sorry! I wanted this to be fun for you too.”

She smiles sweetly at you. “It has been. I just…wanted to make it special.”

You put your spoon down. “Melissa, I meant it when I said this could be pizza and beers and it would be special to me, because it’s you. This has been great, and I feel like I’ve been treated like a queen, but you know I don’t need all this, right? I was happy sitting in the middle of the woods holding your hand.”

For what feels like the hundredth time that night, Melissa finds herself blushing. She had been happy sitting in the middle of the woods holding your hand too. “If you wanna date me, you gotta live with me being a little extra sometimes.”

You grin back at her across the table. “Oh, I’m good with that. And yes, just to be clear, I do wanna date you. Properly.”

Helping clear the plates after dessert you both move to the sofa to finish your wine. The wine glasses are quickly forgotten on the table, however, as her lips find yours. As her hands clutch you to her, you’re in heaven. Her lips find your neck and you realise you’re done for.

She pulls back as a whimper leaves your throat, her pupils blown as she takes you in. You’re flushed and panting. “I barely touched you,” she breathes in awe.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” you reply.

She smirks. “Know what I’d like to do to you.”

This has you both blushing. She takes your hands, linking your fingers together. “I want this. You. All of it, but I don’t want to rush things.”

“Baby steps?”

“Maybe not quite that slow and innocent,” she smirks, leaning in to kiss you once more. “Stay?” she asks, the word whispered against your lips as she rests her forehead against your own. “I want to share an actual bed with you.”

Upstairs, you take turns in the bathroom. You find yourself smiling at your reflection in the mirror as you brush your teeth. The borrowed oversized sleep shirt you wear is soft and worn. You’ve stayed over at Melissa’s house before, but in the guest room in your own nightwear. This is a whole new level of intimacy.

Turning the light off as you leave the bathroom, you find the red head already in bed. Slipping beneath the covers, there’s a polite distance between the two of you as you regard each other in the dim streetlight filtering through the gap in the curtains. Finally, Melissa breaks the silence with a sigh and a rolling of her eyes. She shuffles across the mattress until she can curl into your side, much as she did that night in the woods.

“Tell anyone I’m a koala and I’ll have to kill you,” she mumbles against your chest.

You can’t help but laugh at the half-hearted threat. “Worth it.”

She leans up and glares at you in the dim light.

In return, you push yourself up to press a kiss to her lips. “Fine, my lips are sealed so long as you promise to keep putting yours on them.”

“Deal,” she smiles, pressing one last lingering kiss to your lips before settling back against your chest.

The next morning you’re woken by Melissa’s message tone. She grumbles incoherently as she blindly reaches for the device on her bedside table. Locating the offending item, she brings it close to her face where she can see it. “Barb,” she informs you, turning the phone so you can read the screen.

Still sleepy and warm, even this small action makes you smile. That she’s comfortable enough to let you read the message from her friend. Barb is asking how the night went. “I’d say it went pretty well.” So you got to wake up with Melissa at an actual bed, but it appeared Barb was still to be your alarm.

Melissa’s lips curl up in a smile. “Yeah, it did.” She taps the screen of her phone, holding it above the two of you and taking a picture. Bringing her phone back down, you both look at the screen, at how happy you both look, curled up together. “You okay if I send this?”

“Long as you are,” you reply, pressing a kiss to the top of her head where she rests against your shoulder. Everything is covered and you’re both in PJ’s. It’s almost tasteful.

The reply that comes back is quick. Melissa laughs at the almost expected prudish reply. She types out a reply, telling Barb to look at the picture again and take her mind out of the gutter. A few moments later, her phone chimes again.

This time, she smirks, turning the phone to allow you to see it more easily. You read the typed words, saying you both look very happy and she hopes you enjoy dessert. You frown at the tense. Barb is usually very particular in what she says. “Is she?”

“Implying what you think she is?” laughs the red head. “I think she might be.” She tosses her phone back on the bedside table, shifting until she can look up at you, her chin resting on your shoulder. “Morning.”

“Morning,” you smile.

“You know,” she drawls. “This. Waking up with you in an actual bed. This is kinda nice too.”

“Careful,” you warn, taking in her face in the early morning light, her curls spilling messily over her shoulders. “A girl could get used to it.”

A soft smile tugs at her lips. “Maybe she should?”

#melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa x reader #spoilmesweetieforficsake #melissa schemmenti

176 notes · View notes

deathofacupid · 6 months ago

Text

i'll always take care of you | clay jensen

a/n: this post saved me! posting another clay fic fully aware it's going to flop...

summary: clay hates parties, but if you're going, he's going too. someone's gotta watch out for you, right?

warnings: underage drinking, mention of drugs, cursing

pairing: fem!reader x clay jensen

word count: 1.2k+ words

he swears, he swears, he took his eyes off you for less than five minutes to pee. in his defense, clay didn't think you'd go missing in that short amount of time. (okay, he tells himself, maybe "missing" isn't the right word choice if he wants to stay calm.)

now, he thinks - knows - otherwise. clay regrets not asking one his sober friends to watch you, because who knows what might've happened to you?

and now that he's acknowledged the fact something might've happned to you, he's spiraling. hey, at least he's self aware of the fact he's spiraling, right?

yeah, okay, so that doesn't make things better.

he asks around, but the music is too loud, so most people don't even hear him. and if they do hear him, they're "busy". whether it's dancing, grinding, or drinking, he's reached the conclusion that no one gives shits.

he's frantically going back and forth, room to room. clay tries your phone a number of times, though he isn't suprised when it goes straight to voicemail.

as he shoves past more people, heading to the kitchen where the drinks are at (you might be there), his mind is racing with every possibility.

what if someone took advantage of you? and it was all his fault? be, god, did he not learn all the previous times?

he shoulders a drunk couple, and scans the area. empty bottles, alcohol not not, trash the counters, and a number of cabinets are left open. clay takes a few step fowards, accidently kicking a can. he pick it up, and in the process, sees a girl... just lying there.

he makes a face, before realizing it's not just any girl. it's his girlfriend. it's... you.

"y/n? what the hell? where's your phone at? i've been looking for you everywhere!" he exclaims, trying to pull you up.

"shh. sh. look at those stars. god, i just love the ursa major."

"we're inside. those are the ceiling lights," clay says. he doesn't think he's ever met someone who gets drunk like you.

"oh. well, it's still magical."

"yeah, lord praise the electrican," with a slight struggle, he pulls you up to your feet, and you don't resist.

"how much did you have to drink?" he mutters, and it's mostly rhetorical.

"yes, i am."

"no, that's not- never mind. we're leaving."

"nooo. why? we just got here!"

"oh, yeah," he rolls his eyes, "we just got here 3 hours ago."

you whine again, but he just sighs. you aren't normally a heavy drinker, but when you do decide to get out of that comfort zone, you go all out.

currently, it felt like he was dragging around a hormonal toddler. 0/10 experience, he does not recommend. of course, he'll happily do it anyways.

ask anybody really, clay's completely whipped for you. he hasn't felt this was since hannah, and even then, it doesn't feel the same.

it feels deeper.

part of him is afraid he's gonna mess this up, and that his love for you has peaked. but he looks right at you, and realizes that it never will.

"come on, angel," he says, almost pleadingly. the way your eyes gleam at the nickname he's just dropped has him all giddy.

"okie," you make grabby-hands at them.

"is this- are you asking me to carry you?" clay knows very well it wouldn't work out well. he's so greatful you look past his physical strength.

you shrug. "well," clay presses his lips together, "it looks like you can in fact walk, so... let's get to it."

he takes a step to you, and you stumble straight into his arms. clay darts a hand to your lower back to steady you, "whoa."

"i'm good!" you slur.

"and off we go, drunkie."

"'m... i'm not a," you pause, hiccupping, trying to remember the word he used.

"uh, at this moment, you are." he leads you to the front door, and he's so focused on helping you take steps forward, he completely slams into someone.

clay falters back as you fall out of your grip. but as he realizes what's happened, he sees that justin's caught you, and you're pressed up against him. "oh," you murmur, "well, hello there, handsome."

"yeah, okay, no," clay loops your arm back around him, stealing you back from his brother.

"alas, i'm taken," justin sighs. "and you are too. forbidden love, huh?"

clay rolls his eyes, for what feels like the millionth time tonight. "y/n's, like, shit-faced."

"i can see that. you taking her home?"

"your parents are out of town, right?" he asks, turning back to you.

"my... my parents?" you ask, "i have-?"

clay makes eye contact with justin. "she'll stay the night. i don't want her home alone. i assume you'll..." he grimaces, "stay the night with jess?"

"oh, you know it, bro."

clay makes a face, picturing his brother having sex isn't great. he knows he doesn't have to tell justin to do the right thing.

"cool. then you won't need a ride back."

"nope. you aren't drunk, right?"

"i'm the designated driver," clay replies.

"cool. night, by the way," he says, giving the two of you a quick hug.

"goodnight!" you sing-song, individually sounding out ever syllable.

he opens the car door for you, and you squint off into the distance. "look at the moon. it's so pretty. you're almost as pretty."

clay follows your eye line. "that... that is a street-lamp."

you shrug, "you're almost as pretty."

"gee, thanks."

"don't be jealous?"

"it's hard to not envy a street-lamp."

you giggle drunkenly, and a small smile flits over his face, "you're adorable," he tells you.

"i know," you say, matter-of-factly.

"aww, what an adorable narcissist."

"very."

clay chuckles and closes the door, getting in from the other side.

“where are we going?” you ask, squinting at the rear-view mirror in awe. “oh my, that’s me,” you whisper.

"a; my place, b; that's your reflection. wild, right?"

"whoa," is all you respond with. you pull on your seatbelt, adjusting it so you can turn to face him in your seat. "i really, really love you."

"well, you're in luck," he smiles, "the feeling's mutual."

he tries to keep up with your nonsensical blabber, but he doesn't know if he's done a good job. either way, clay's just pulled into the parking lot, turning the ignition off.

"all right," he turns to look at you, exiting from his side, and over to yours. unbuckling your belt for you, clay helps you out.

"to the shed we go!" you cheer, not very quietly. clay clamps a hand over your mouth, "you could quite literally not be any louder."

you bite his hand, and he yelps, pulling it away. "yes, i could!" you argue.

"trust me, i don't wanna test that theory out."

"your loss."

"not really."

the first thing he does is help you change into comfier clothes, an old shirt of his and basketball shorts that don't fit him anymore. clay doesn't have a reason to keep makeup wipes around, but he adds them to his mental shopping list for next time. he grabs a clean rag and wets it with warm water, gently wiping off the makeup.

then it's just you and his in the outhouse, pressed against each other under covers.

"tired?" he asks. you nod simply in reply.

"yeah, me too. now i have a good idea of being a dad is like." he chuckles at his own stupid joke, thinking that if you were sober, you'd say something silly like "okay, daddy".

"thanks for..." you trail off, yawning. clay kisses your forehead.

"i'll always take care of you."

#clay jensen imagine #clay jensen fluff #clay jensen #clay jensen fanfic #clay jensen x reader #13rw #13rw self insert #thirteen reasons why

93 notes · View notes

damianwayne0 · 10 months ago

Text

Minecraft || (6)

(part 6) part 1| part 2| part 3| part 4| part 5

Tim : *sighs* why?

Jason: why what?

Tim: *sighs* nothing*sips coffee*

Dick : where did you get that coffee from!?

Tim , deeply stares into dicks eyes: You. Don't. Wanna. Know.

Dick: oki-e.

Damian : stop!!!!

Before they all could stop they all fall into the rivine :

Dick: Thank God there was water!!

Jason: ugh, I hit my head a little.

Tim : You sure not your ego?

Jason: 🖕

Damian: YOU ! stupid drake! Why did you pull me in !!!!

Tim: 🤷

Damian: imbecile- *gets hit* what the-

Jason : Run!. there is a lot of monsters!!

Dick , who already started running before they could even process:.Yeah what are you guys doing waiting there!!??

Damian, running: How is there so many zombies!?

Jason, running: IDK JUST RUN!!!

Tim , running: RUN WHERE !? YHE RIVINE IS ABOUT TO END!!

Dick, running: GUYS START BUILDING UP!

Tim, running and panting: OH SHIT OH SHIT MY HEALTH IS AT 3

After they reach up:

Jason , panting: was that a trap?

Damian, panting: y-es beloved made it with pressure plates. I just remembered that and before I could say anything you guys already stepped on it .

Dick, looking down at the rivine: Damn, I gotta give it to her .

Tim, agreeing: Yeah that almost killed me .

Jason : Well look it's going to be dark again. We need to get their fast.

Dick: And I don't think we have anymore resources to fight off the zombies.

Damian: why did u guys make your houses so far away?

Tim: Idk someone wanted to have a little adventure*side eying dick*

Dick : Heyy come on , wasn't my fault entirely*side eyeing Jason*

Jason : Seriously!?

After a while:

Jason, panting : no , I can't-

Dick , laying on the ground : yeah , me too

Damian, annoyed: seriously?.. Why did I even fucking come here with y'all !?

Tim: I don't know! We never asked you to come!

Dick : Umm Timmy I did.

Tim, rolling his eyes: Of course you did.

Jason, panting: I really can't walk anymore .

Jason: let's just go .

After two Minecraft day :

Tim : Finally.

Jason: gosh

Dick : I think I pooped a lil

Damian : ew seriously? You stopped five times for your bathroom break but still?

Jason, rolling his eyes: ew and yeah let's go.

Y/n : Hi guys, did you see Tim ? I logged off in his house. Oh Hi tim

Tim: Hi Y/n

Damian: beloved, I am here.

Y/n : who spoke?

Damian: :(

Dick : Hiii Y/n

Jason, looking around: Hello y/n

Y/n: oh hi guys . Y'all are here?

Jason: something came up

Y/n : oh I see .

Damian: beloved why do u have so many chests?

Y/n : oh these-

Tim , interrupting: Did u have them!???

Y/n : first of all rude , second I have what?

Damian, rolling his eyes : Drake lost his stacks of cobble stone.

Tim : I didn't lose them ! They got stolen!

Damian: Yeah Yeah keep telling yourself that.

Tim :YOU DEMON BRAT!

Damian: YOU IMBECILE! YOU WANNA FIGHT!?

Tim: NO WONDER YOUR MOTHER LEFT YOU!

Damian: AT LEAST I HAVE A MOTHER !

Y/n : STOP!!!

Y/n : *Sighs* Guys please stop , don't fight-

Jason: Oi Y/n why do you have this many cobble slabs? * Looking into one of the many chests*

Y/n : oh theseee. * Looking at Tim* You should really reduce your caffeine.

Tim, pouting: Not you too.

Dick : Bro you literally tried to kill me for some stacks of cobble stones.

Tim: Those are some stacks of cobble stones! Those are six stacks of my hard work!

Y/n , facepalming : No, like you should really reduce your caffeine.Because it somehow, made you forgot that you gave those six stacks of cobble stones I mean hard work to me to make slabs.

Suddenly there is a pin drop silence. But the moment you blink, you see your boyfriend and his two older brothers chasing Tim.

Y/n: *sighs*

Jason: *chasing Tim with his guns out* YOU MOTHER FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT

Damian: * with his Minecraft diamond enchanted sword* IF I WERE A BIRD NOW I KNOW WHO I WOULD SHIT ON!

Dick : * with a stick ( I don't know where he took that from 🤷) * YOU TRIED TO KILL ME FOR THIS!????????

Y/n : oh well *shrugs* Dami wanna go on a date ?

Damian: * still chasing Tim* sure beloved

I hope you guys liked it . And yeah it took a lil long to post it and I am sorry for that . This is the last chapter ^⁠_⁠^

102 notes · View notes

alizzadanika · 7 days ago

Text

well, it's been a week since i went to see atta boy and i have officially processed it and i've decided not to gatekeep (most) of my experience LOL. because if i don't talk about it, i will explode!

*praying that they never see this so i can remain super mysterious when i eventually meet up with them again (🤞)*

before the concert started, i passed by the merch table and gave freddy and dashel a bag of these keychains i made for the band, their openers, etc.! freddy took one and was like "oh, these are going on my keys" and dashel laughed and was very pleased with the "the second tour ever tour 2024" tagline :) (iykyk)

opener was awesome (the wonderfool)!!! i haven't stopped listening to their most recent album since the concert. wish i had gotten to talk to them after the concert but i didn't wanna disturb them while they were clearing up their equipment. :) very chill folks, GO GIVE THEM A LISTEN!!

(i also wish i had caught aubrey to have a chat but i literally don't know where she went when i mustered up the courage to talk to any of them afterwards 😭)

at the end of the concert, i wanted to hang back for a bit since freddy said the whole band usually is at the merch table afterwards.

there was a line for the merch and then there was a small group of people waiting to talk to lewis (who was off to the side talking with a friend). i let my friend get her merch and i sipped on my bud light, standing around.

when it started getting really late and the line for the merch table was still pretty long, i was like "ah fuck it, i'll just say hi to lewis, then say hey to the rest of the gang after"

so i got into the line by the bar

while i was in line, there was a really sweet girl who came up to me and we were just chatting about the east coast and tattoos and she very much liked my hair (she called my bangs "fresh and pristine")! i don't remember what for but we high fived about something LOL. after a bit, her husband was trying to tell her that she had work in the morning but me and her were like "ahhh it's fine!" i wish i had gotten her name (IF YOU SEE THIS, HELLO!!!!! OR I MIGHTVE MESSAGED YOU ALREADY!!!!!)

when it got to me, i felt bad that she had work the following morning so i was telling her to go ahead of me. meanwhile lewis was just watching like 🧍‍♂️

she got her photo with him and they chatted for a bit, then left

i was gonna walk over to him but he walked over to me and we were both just like "hey! 👋😀"

we were chatting and i asked him to sign my bag, then this man put my sharpie in his mouth (which i didn't even realize until my friend told me about it later) and KNELT ON BOTH KNEES ON THE DIRTY FLOOR WITH HIS WHITE PANTS (i felt so bad because we were literally only a couple steps from the bar 😭😭😭)

he then proceeded to pull out his zyn can and put it in my bag so he had a flat surface to write on (which, again, we were right beside the bar LOL). i proceeded to laugh in his face about it (I COULDNT STOP MYSELF) and was like "oh my god the zyn-" and he also laughed and was like "hey gotta have something to get me going through the day!" my response being: "gotta do what you gotta do"

anyways.. (😭) got a couple photos with him after i told him my mom would beat my ass if i didn't (to which he replied "oh yeah for sure, gotta keep mom happy) and i told him about the keychains, which he was pretty pumped about! and we chat a bit more then my friend and i left

(IM KICKING MYSELF FOR NOT PROPERLY INTRODUCING MYSELF BECAUSE I WAS SO TIRED BUT IT'S OKAY I GUESS)

i went over to the merch table finally to get the others' signatures and freddy was like "what was your name again? wait don't tell me ... 'uh-lie-zuh'" (he also told me earlier he recognized my name from the band instagram) and i was like "so close! 'uh-lee-zuh'" and he went "damn!"

(he also asked me when i bought my atta boy tote and said he was the one that sent it to me out of his parents house, when i said i bought it last year 🙂‍↕️)

i asked to get a photo and he was like "yeah!" but then when i started to take a selfie, he was like "WAIT! ✋ we have to get a proper photo with all of us!"

freddy then wrangled up the rest of the band for me–even though dashel and lew were chatting with people and eden was starting to clear up 😭

then lewis saw me and i was like "🧍‍♀️im back" and he was like "hey! you're back! 😄"

LOL...........

and finally, to end this long storytime, here's me with the atta boy gang!

(sorry, dashel, for that first pic but i have to give a before and after because, after the first photo, eden said "wow, it's like we're giants" LMAOOOO)

dashel, freddy, and lewis said their goodbyes and thank yous and eden asked my friend what kind of camera she had and just chatted with us for a bit (she was also one of the four people who really liked my hair [specifically my bangs])!

i started to tell her about the keychains but she was like "OH WAIT, i saw these earlier!!!!" she was so so so sweet

great folks, great music, great experience! THE ATTABOY THIRD TOUR EVER TOUR WHEN????

okay, goodnight.

#atta boy #eden brolin #freddy reish #dashel thompson #lewis pullman #dc9 #concert #i miss them already #in a totally not weird parasocial way #i just want to be in a crowd listening to music again

25 notes · View notes

luminousjellyfishy · 3 months ago

Text

Hey look I'm capable of writing?? Woah???

It's a oneshot, so it's not too much, but I'm still proud that I wrote something.

Haunting Lullabies

Characters (all Sanses from UTAU/MV): Nightmare, Killer, Dust, Horror, Cross

Word count: 3609

Trigger warnings: Swearing and harsh teasing (it's pretty much bullying)

Summary: Nightmare tasks the gang with watching a child for a day while he's out, thinking things will go smoothly. To his dismay, they don't.

The Bad Sanses were sitting in the living room, Nightmare on his chair, Killer and Dust sharing the larger couch, and Horror and Cross sharing the loveseat. Error had been absent for the majority of the day, either off destroying or hiding away in the Anti-Void. The five present members were each doing their respective hobbies in relative silence, enjoying the calm evening after a long, tiresome day of causing havoc throughout the AUs.

Nightmare took a rather large sip of his coffee, then said abruptly, “I feel that I should let you know ahead of time that Error and I will be gone all day tomorrow, and in our absence the four of you will be looking after a child. I owe a friend of mine a favour and it seems that… babysitting, is the task they’ve chosen.”

This sudden comment drew the attention of everyone in the room, actually resulting in a true, pure silence. Panicked eyelights were darting around the room between one another and Nightmare, desperately hoping that they had misheard.

“What…? Boss, what do you even mean? A kid?” Killer started suddenly, confusion all over his features.

“Please tell me it’s not a human.” Dust added, his eyesockets wider than his usual apathetic appearance allowed.

A small chuckle from Nightmare, “No, he isn’t a human. He’s a skeleton monster like yourselves. However, he is quite fragile, so please do be careful with him. I can imagine that you’re all wondering why I don’t watch him, as I’m the one who owes the favour, and the answer is quite simple: I don’t want to.”

Cross stared agape at the smirk on Nightmare’s face, apparently not understanding how one could just not follow through on a debt just because they “didn’t want to”.

“Is something the matter, you two? You seem awfully quiet and I thought you’d have more to say on the matter.” Nightmare asked Cross and Horror in a low voice, however completely unthreatening.

“Well, I don’t really know much about takin’ care of a kid… the best I got is Aliza.” Horror said slowly, evidently still processing the situation. Cross quickly nodded in agreement, still silent.

“I mean, you’ve had Chara living in your skull for a while now, so you’ve still got a step up above the rest of us. I mean, I guess that I worked with Chara for a while, but they were a maniac, so I don’t think they really count…” Killer said to Cross; however, quickly trailing off in uncertainty.

“I killed my human.” Dust added softly.

“What’s that gotta do with it?” Horror asked, now looking at Dust.

“I don’t wanna accidentally kill the kid we’re supposed to watch.” He answered.

“Trust me, that won’t happen.” Nightmare replied, doing little to alleviate his concerns.

Silence followed briefly before Cross said, “So how old is he? Is there anything specific we should know? Is his magic stable? You said that he’s fragile, so will we need to dedicate certain times to healing? We need so much information to make sure we don’t kill him!”

Nightmare seemed to ponder the questions for a small moment before replying with a smile, “He’s a few months past 6 years old, however he looks, acts, and thinks much older. He doesn’t have much usable magic, so you won’t have to worry about that. While he is fragile, there is nothing you can do to help, so no amount of healing will do anything. Just keep him comfortable and entertained and you’ll all be fine.”

“You really seem like you’re purposefully not telling us shit about him.” Killer commented, shaking his head in disbelief.

“That’s fully intentional, but please, do not worry too much. You’ll be fine. When you all wake tomorrow, I’ll be gone and won’t be back until late at night. He will most likely be here before you wake, so please try not to sleep in too much.” Nightmare replied with a soft smile and laugh at the end.

A pained groan quickly erupted from both Killer and Dust at the knowledge that they won’t be able to sleep in.

Nightmare laughed again, shook his head, and refocused his attention back onto his book.

~~~~

The child had been roaming the halls of the mansion for quite some time now, admittedly getting rather bored. He had pondered causing chaos multiple times since Nightmare left, but has decided against it every time… well. Every time but this one it seems.

He ran to the laundry area, in the hopes to find some buckets. After a short amount of time spent rummaging around, he finally found a few beside a washing machine. A silly, evil giggle erupted before quickly being silenced, even though he was two floors beneath anyone and he knew that no one had woken up yet.

He ran as fast as he could to the bedroom wing on the second floor, holding several buckets. After reaching the wing, he quickly made his way to Error’s room, hoping desperately that there was leftover string or yarn from the many dolls and scarfs that were so often being made. To his excitement, he found a rather large amount of lime green yarn that would work perfectly.

He set to work, filling four buckets with water and attaching fairly intricate pulley systems to each, rigging them all to dump at their perfect moments.

Now to wait…

He sat down quietly against a wall across from the bedroom doors and began to sleep. Or at least what appeared to be sleeping from an outside perspective. He had actually just entered a semi-unconscious daydreaming state that could easily be disrupted.

Time quickly passed with the child sitting on the floor.

Suddenly, a tired groan from one of the rooms awoke the child from his trance. He quickly stood up, waiting for whoever it was to leave their room. Some shuffling could be heard from what the child knew to be Killer’s room and they could barely contain their giggle when they heard him approach the door to come into the hallway.

The doorknob turned and the system was set into motion.

Killer opened the door and walked out, surprised to see the child waiting there, but raised his hand to say hi.

Out of nowhere, a bucket of water dumped onto his head, drenching him completely and resulting in a loud, startled yell of utter confusion.

The child burst into fits of laughter, unable to contain it any longer.

All the sudden commotion woke the other sleeping skeletons and forced them out of their rooms to see what the problem was. As soon as their doors opened and they walked out, buckets dumped cold water onto their heads.

Everyone was completely confused and staring at the child with reactions that varied from amusement to pissed off. The child in question was currently on the floor dying of laughter because apparently he found their suffering and misery to be hilarious.

“Ok… what the fuck? Huh??” Was all that could be said from Killer, still staring at the skeleton child on the floor.

Dust didn’t even bother saying anything about the situation, he just shook his head and turned back into his room to change.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Horror slowly approached the child, asking quietly, “I take it you’re the kid Nightmare wants us to watch?”

The child took a second to calm down, but then looked up at the large skeleton ahead of him and quieted down slightly, however still letting out copious amounts of giggles.

“Yeah, that’s me. My name’s Lullaby. You’re Horror right?” another burst of giggles, “Sorry about the water, I just got super bored because you were all sleeping and I didn’t know what to do.” The child, now Lullaby, answered through more laughter and wide smiles.

Cross looked around the hallway, noticing the very complicated design of the yarn attached to all four of their rooms, then back to Lullaby, very confused as to how a 6 year old managed to accomplish this, and wondering how long they had been here.

“You set all of this up?? How long have you been here?” Cross asked incredulously before Horror could think of a response.

Lullaby smiled innocently before saying, “I’ve been here for about 2 or 3 hours? Setting this up only took about 15 minutes, though.”

“Ok hold up, I need to wrap my head around. You’re telling me, this 6 year old brat that Boss is forcing us to watch set this all up in 15 minutes? I don’t buy it.” Killer said in a dark tone of voice, very tempted to summon some of his knives and get rid of this nuisance.

“Killer, calm down. It’s just water and not that big of a deal.” Horror grumbled in his raspy voice, watching carefully to make sure he didn’t try anything.

Killer just scoffed and turned back into his room, clearly annoyed.

“Don’t worry too much about him, he just gets… grumpy. Especially this early in the morning. Well, it’s early for him anyways.” Cross chimed in. He was still soaked in water, but was very clearly amused.

Dust finally came back out of his room, dressed in clothes perfect for lounging around the house all day. He approached Lullaby and kneeled down so they were on the same level.

“Good job, kid, I’m impressed. Not just anyone can piss off Killer so fast.” He said with a wide smirk on his face and held his hand up for a high five. Lullaby gave him one with a smile stretched wide.

“I know, I know. I should be a professional shit disturber, right?” Lullaby asked, his smile still going strong.

Cross and Horror broke out into small fits of laughter, clearly not having expected that, whereas Dust just raised his ‘eyebrows’ in surprise.

“You totally should, that sounds like a great occupation.” Cross replied, trying to steady himself.

Horror nodded in agreement, then said, “I say we reward the newfound shit disturber with some nice cream.”

“Can I have some?” Killer called out from his room, still not opening the door.

Dust scoffed, “If you agree to play nice and not kill the kid then maybe we’ll consider giving you some.”

Silence followed for a few long seconds, when finally the door creaked open and out came Killer.

“Fine. I won’t kill him, BUT I will get my revenge.” He said maliciously, eyesockets narrowed at Lullaby.

“Oh noooooo, I’m so scared.” He muttered to himself; however, Killer unfortunately heard.

“I’m trying to be nice, and this is the reaction I get? Nah, I’m going all out. You’re going to regret coming here, kid.”

“We’ll see.”

~~~~

As the day passed by ever so slowly, Killer stayed true to his word. He had his fun torturing Lullaby, by first stealing his nice cream, then scaring him multiple times throughout the day, then taking away anything that he had been enjoying, and many more things that progressively got worse. He would taunt him and insult him, commenting on his broken and damaged bones, calling him names, teleporting him to parts of the mansion furthest away from anyone else, making fun of his purple clothing, and just overall making this day very unpleasant for him. The others tried intervening when they could, but there was only so much that they could do.

At one point, Lullaby seemed to have a mini panic attack that caused Killer to slightly falter, but not stop.

Cross, Dust, and Horror all talked to Killer, trying to get him to stop, but they were all met with a shrug and a comment similar to, “He knew what he was getting into. Besides, it's not even that bad, I’m just teasing him. It’ll help toughen the kid up!”

Eventually, Lullaby started avoiding him, if he saw Killer come near, he’d leave immediately.

Around 8pm, Dust caught Lullaby hiding in a broom closet with his eyes shut tight and muttering something, seemingly talking to someone. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, making enough noise so his presence was obvious. Lullaby looked up at him, startled as he sat down.

“Are you alright, kid? … No, that’s a stupid question. Killer’s been a complete jerk to you and it’s not fair or right. He’s not used to talking to people outside of our group unless he’s killing ‘em, so he might think that this is ok behaviour. I mean, fuck he’s always doing it to me. Well, not to this extent, but still…” Dust whispered to him, not wanting to draw outside attention. Lullaby’s shoulders sank and he hugged his knees tightly.

“I just thought it would be funny… I figured he of all people would agree. Do you think he hates me…?” He asked reluctantly. Dust’s head snapped towards him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

“No, kid. Not at all. He’s just a massive hypocrite who can dish it out but can’t take it. Stars, it’s nothing against you.” He shook his head and pulled Lullaby closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He felt him tense up at the contact and quickly let go.

Lullaby looked away with a sad expression on his face and nodded, standing up to leave. Dust followed suit, opening the door and walking out.

The two walked the halls towards the kitchen, hoping to meet Horror there, but being intercepted by Killer. Lullaby hid behind Dust, grabbing onto his sweatshirt and careful not to touch his scarf.

“Awww, is the little baby hiding behind Dusty? C’mon kid, I thought you were better than that. Aren’t you the one who said ‘we’ll see’ when I told you that you were gonna regret coming? You think that was a little cocky of you? Maybe you regret your stupid your stupid water prank?” Killer taunted, his voice chock-full of spite.

Dust glared at him, “Seriously? He’s 6, Killer. He dunked you with water, because it’s funny. I thought you of all people could take a joke. You’re way out of line. How the hell do you think Boss is gonna react when he finds out how you’ve been acting? We were charged with watching the kid and making sure that he’s ‘comfortable and entertained’, neither of which you’ve been doin-”

“Aw come on! I’ve totally been entertaining!”

“Leave him alone. If I find out that you’ve continued antagonizing him, there’ll be hell to pay.”

A quick, unreadable look from Killer, and he was gone.

Dust turned to take Lullaby’s hand so they could keep walking, but quickly saw that he was crying. He kneeled down and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away the violet tears that looked much more oily than a regular skeleton’s tears would. After wiping them away, they seemed to stain his bones a much darker colour than the tears were. It was almost black and caused Dust to do a double take.

“Kid? Why a-”

“He’s just like them.”

Dust sat in silence, his ‘eyebrows’ scrunched in confusion.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. I’m staying.” He muttered to himself, but Dust could tell that he seemed to be telling someone else that he was staying. Someone that wasn’t himself or Dust.

The two of them stood up, and resumed their walk to the kitchen.

They walked in silence, eventually getting back to a sight that they didn’t expect.

Killer was sitting at the dinner table, his head in his arms and Cross beside him with a resigned look on his face.

Dust could feel Lullaby tense up, but neither said anything.

Killer looked up and his teasing stature seemed to crumble.

There was silence for a moment before he began, “Listen, kid. I’m sorry. I’m sure they’ve told you that I ‘struggle with emotions’ or whatever crap excuses they tried to give you to cover up for me. I dish out my pranks and comments to everyone, but I don’t know why I’ve been especially mean- no, cruel. To you. I guess I was taken aback that you got me first, so I tried making up for it like this. So I’m sorry.”

Lullaby said nothing, but Dust felt his grip loosen.

“I get if you don’t wanna talk to me or anything, but I just wanted to tell you that I really am sorry.” Killer muttered resignedly as he got up from the table and began to walk towards the door.

When Killer passed by Lullaby and Dust, Lullaby quickly grabbed onto him, pulling him tightly into a hug.

Killer stared down at him in shock, then slowly hugged him back.

“It was nice to hear you say that, but I can’t make myself believe it.” Lullaby said, dropping his arms and pulling back so tears could be seen to form in his broken eye sockets, “I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s too cruel. You’re great people and it was nice to meet you, but I really wish we could have started off better. Maybe I’ll bring myself to speak to you again later.”

Everyone’s faces shifted from confusion to shock when Lullaby’s body began leaking a dark substance from its crevices and orifices, especially his right eyesocket.

Slowly, Lullaby was completely engulfed in the goo, all of his injuries hidden and the hole where his right eye should have been was covered. Finally, his eyelight changed to a cyan slit and his demeanour changed from being a scared child, to that of a very pissed off King.

Nightmare glared at Killer, his tentacles lashing around violently, displaying his anger.

“You have no idea how much shit you’re in, Killer. It never occurred to you that maybe you should stop when you triggered him into having a panic attack? You never stopped to wonder why he did so? Why he hid?” He hissed, his tentacles sharp and pointed at Killer.

“I didn’t stop to think. I was upset that he got me fir-”

“I heard your whole speech earlier, don’t waste my time by repeating yourself.”

There was silence as Killer looked to his feet.

“Can’t explain yourself? Fine, then don’t. I don’t care to hear it anyways. As for my explanation, Lullaby is the name my past self goes by, as the name ‘Nightmare’ contains far too many negative connotations and memories. He follows me as a ghost that I can see and communicate with. I’ve been watching you all day, and honestly Killer, I’m very disappointed. You practically reenacted the worst years of his life. Of course, your ‘apology’ helps your case; however, I’m still quite upset.” Nightmare scolded, still glaring at Killer.

“He wanted to meet all of you, so we agreed that today would be a good day to do so, as Error would be out and we had no plans. I want to thank the three of you,” he looked to Dust, Horror, and Cross, “for assisting and comforting him. I appreci-”

“I’m so sorry.”

Nightmare looked back to Killer, only to see far less Hate leaking from his eyes, however being replaced by his red tears.

“I didn’t know. I thought that we were just having some fun, but I guess towards the end, I was just being mean on purpose because I wanted to feel powerful. Ha… feel powerful over a fucking 6 year old. Man, I really am the worst…” Killer sobbed, trailing off at the end.

Nightmare’s tentacles calmed and rounded slightly at the tips. He was at a loss for words. It was a very rare occurrence to see Killer cry, but when he did, it was genuine.

Everyone was quiet, broken only by Killer’s weeping.

Nightmare sighed, then pulled Killer towards him with his tentacles, gently embracing him. The other three respectfully kept their distance.

“Lullaby said it’s ok. He doesn’t blame you and you shouldn’t blame yourself. We both knew what he was getting into by taking control; however, I cannot let this go unpunished.” Nightmare murmured, gently rubbing his back with a tentacle. He felt Killer tense up slightly and he could feel his dread radiating.

“It’s nothing cruel or torturous, I assure you. However, you won’t like it.”

He could feel the others’ apprehension as he continued to console Killer.

“You’ll be taking care of everyone’s chores, you’ll be assisting Horror with dinners, and you’ll be going to bed at 9pm, all for a month from today.” He asserted, instantly feeling his disappointment, but also understanding. Dust cheered when Nightmare said Killer will be doing their chores, Horror groaned when he said that he’ll be helping in the kitchen, and Cross laughed at the fact that he’ll have a bedtime.

Killer pulled away, wiped his face with his sleeve, and nodded.

“You said, Lullaby followed you as a ghost, and that you heard me talking earlier, so does that mean he can hear me now?” Killer asked slowly. To this, Nightmare with a quiet sound of confirmation. “In that case, I’m sorry, kid. I really am.”

Nightmare’s eyelight flickered into Lullaby’s purple one, but he didn’t uncorrupt, instead he said in his lighter voice and with a smile, “It’s ok. I really don’t blame you. Personally, I would have revoked your nice cream privileges, but this will do.”

His eyelight flickered back to cyan and his smile changed to a smirk, “I actually think that’s a great idea. Fuck you, no nice cream for a week.”

Killer fell to his knees dramatically, seemingly mostly back to his old self, and yelled out numerous profanities.

Everyone laughed at the sight, Lullaby included.

So, this follows my headcanon that Nightmare is made up of three consciousnesses: the original passive Nightmare (he goes by Lullaby now), the Corruption (literal negativity - goes by C), and Nightmare (he's a combination of the other 2 - primarily has control of their body). Lullaby can take control whenever he wants since he's the original (the other 2 can't take it from him), and C can take from Nightmare, but Nightmare can't take from C. For about 2 centuries after the Apple Incident, C (he went by Nightmare to keep up appearances) had complete control over their body because Lullaby didn't want to interact with reality at all (at this point, he wasn't even following as a ghost, he was just gone). After those ~2 centuries, the combination between them formed and others would notice that Nightmare had significantly calmed down, signifying the formation of the current and most well-known Nightmare.

This is inspired by a YouTube video by AButterfly (www.youtube.com/watch?v=10iGbkHDafA) and I seriously suggest you watch it! Not even just for context, but because it's cool.

Thanks for reading! :D

20 notes · View notes